The positive association between employment and self-reported mental health in the USA: a robust application of marginalized zero-inflated negative binomial regression (MZINB)

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-352
Author(s):  
Chinaeke Eric ◽  
Gwynn Melanie ◽  
Hong Yuan ◽  
Zhang Jiajia ◽  
Olatosi Bankole

Abstract Background Few studies have assessed the impact of employment on mental health among chronically ill patients. This study investigated the association between employment and self-reported mental unhealthy days among US adults. Methods For this cross-sectional cohort study, we pooled 2011–2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data. We examined the association between employment and mental health in nine self-reported chronic conditions using marginalized zero-inflated negative binomial regression (MZINB). All analyses were conducted using SAS statistical software 9.4. Results Respondents (weighted n = 245 319 917) were mostly white (77.16%), aged 18–64 (78.31%) and employed (57.08%). Approximately 10% of respondents reported one chronic condition. Expected relative risk of mental unhealthy days was highest for employed respondents living with arthritis (RR = 1.70, 95% CI = [1.66, 1.74]), COPD (RR = 1.45, 95% CI = [1.41, 1.49]) and stroke (RR = 1.31, 95% CI = [1.25, 1.36]) compared to unemployed respondents. Employed males had 25% lower risk of self-reported mental unhealthy days compared to females. Conclusions Results show the interactive effects of employment on self-reported mental health. Employment may significantly impact on self-reported mental health among patients suffering from chronic conditions than those without chronic conditions.

Author(s):  
Byron Creese ◽  
Zunera Khan ◽  
William Henley ◽  
Siobhan O’Dwyer ◽  
Anne Corbett ◽  
...  

BackgroundLoneliness and physical activity are important targets for research into the impact of COVID-19 because they have established links with mental health, could be exacerbated by social distancing policies and are potentially modifiable.MethodWe analysed mental health data collected during COVID-19 from adults aged 50 and over alongside comparable annual data collected between 2015 and 2019 from the same sample. Trajectories of depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) were analysed with respect to loneliness, physical activity levels and a number of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using zero-inflated negative binomial regression.Results3,281 people completed the COVID-19 mental health questionnaire, all had at least one data point prior to 2020. In 2020, the adjusted PHQ-9 score for loneliness was 3.2. (95% CI: 3.0-3.4), an increase of one point on previous years and 2 points higher than people not rated lonely, whose score did not change in 2020 (1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-1.3). PHQ-9 was 2.6 (95% CI: 2.4-2.8) in people with decreased physical activity, an increase of 0.5 on previous years. In contrast, PHQ-9 in 2020 for people whose physical activity had not decreased was 1.7 (95% CI: 1.6-1.8), similar to previous years. A similar relationship was observed for GAD-7 though the differences were smaller and the absolute burden of symptoms lower.ConclusionsAfter accounting for pre-COVID-19 trends, we show that experiencing loneliness and decreased physical activity are risk factors for worsening mental health during the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need to examine policies which target these potentially modifiable risk factors.


Author(s):  
Kevin Lanza ◽  
Casey Durand ◽  
Melody Alcazar ◽  
Sierra Ehlers ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
...  

Parks are settings for physical activity that can support the physical and mental health of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. We determined the impact of the pandemic on the use of joint-use parks outside of school hours by children in Austin, TX, United States. In autumn of 2019 and autumn of 2020 (i.e., before and during the COVID-19 pandemic), we used an adapted version of the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities to observe whether children aged 1–12 participated in physical activity (i.e., sedentary, light and moderate, vigorous) at three parks located at schools serving mostly economically disadvantaged Latinx families. In 2020, we also observed whether children maintained social distance and wore face coverings. Results of negative binomial regression modeling revealed the pandemic was associated with a 46% [95% CI: 20–63%] and 62% [95% CI: 39–76%] decrease in the number of girls and boys at parks, respectively, and a 42% [95% CI: 16–59%] and 60% [95% CI: 36–75%] decrease in the number of girls and boys engaging in physical activity, respectively (p < 0.01). In total, 60.6% of girls and 73.6% of boys were not social distancing, and 91.8% of the time no children wore masks. Interventions should be considered to safely reintroduce children to parks for health benefits during pandemics.


2020 ◽  
pp. annrheumdis-2020-218282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryant R England ◽  
Punyasha Roul ◽  
Yangyuna Yang ◽  
Harlan Sayles ◽  
Fang Yu ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo compare the onset and trajectory of multimorbidity between individuals with and without rheumatoid arthritis (RA).MethodsA matched, retrospective cohort study was completed in a large, US commercial insurance database (MarketScan) from 2006 to 2015. Using validated algorithms, patients with RA (overall and incident) were age-matched and sex-matched to patients without RA. Diagnostic codes for 44 preidentified chronic conditions were selected to determine the presence (≥2 conditions) and burden (count) of multimorbidity. Cross-sectional comparisons were completed using the overall RA cohort and conditional logistic and negative binomial regression models. Trajectories of multimorbidity were assessed within the incident RA subcohort using generalised estimating equations.ResultsThe overall cohort (n=277 782) and incident subcohort (n=61 124) were female predominant (76.5%, 74.1%) with a mean age of 55.6 years and 54.5 years, respectively. The cross-sectional prevalence (OR 2.29, 95% CI 2.25 to 2.34) and burden (ratio of conditions 1.68, 95% CI 1.66 to 1.70) of multimorbidity were significantly higher in RA than non-RA in the overall cohort. Within the incident RA cohort, patients with RA had more chronic conditions than non-RA (β 1.13, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.17), and the rate of accruing chronic conditions was significantly higher in RA compared with non-RA (RA × follow-up year, β 0.21, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.21, p<0.001). Results were similar when including the pre-RA period and in several sensitivity analyses.ConclusionsMultimorbidity is highly prevalent in RA and progresses more rapidly in patients with RA than in patients without RA during and immediately following RA onset. Therefore, multimorbidity should be aggressively identified and targeted early in the RA disease course.


Economies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Han-Sol Lee ◽  
Ekaterina A. Degtereva ◽  
Alexander M. Zobov

The cross-border movement of capital has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic since December 2019. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic for multinational companies to withdraw giant global value chains (GVCs) overnight because of the pandemic. Instead, active discussions and achievements of deals in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are expected in the post-COVID-19 era among various other market entry modes, considering the growing demand in high technologies in societies. This paper analyzes particular determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) during the pandemic year (2020) based on cross-sectional datasets by employing quasi-Poisson and negative binomial regression models. According to the empirical evidence, COVID-19 indices do not hamper M&A deals in general. This indicates that managerial capabilities of the coronavirus, not the outbreak itself, determined locational decisions of M&A deals during the pandemic. In this vein, it is expected that the vaccination rate will become a key factor of locational decision for M&A deals in the near future. Furthermore, countries that have been outstanding in coping with COVID-19 and thus serve as a good example for other nations may seize more opportunities to take a leap forward. In addition, as hypothesized, the results present positive and significant associations with M&A deals and the SDG index, confirming the resource-based theory of internationalization. In particular, the achievement of SDGs seems to exercise much influence in developing countries for M&A bidders during the pandemic year. This indicates that the pandemic demands a new zeitgeist that pursues growth while resolving existing but disregarded environmental issues and cherishes humanitarian values, for all countries, non-exceptionally, standing at the start line of the post-COVID-19 era.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanlin Zhou ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Minxuan Lan ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Zengli Wang

Previous research has recognized the importance of edges to crime. Various scholars have explored how one specific type of edges such as physical edges or social edges affect crime, but rarely investigated the importance of the composite edge effect. To address this gap, this study introduces nightlight data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (NPP-VIIRS) to measure composite edges. This study defines edges as nightlight gradients—the maximum change of nightlight from a pixel to its neighbors. Using nightlight gradients and other control variables at the tract level, this study applies negative binomial regression models to investigate the effects of edges on the street robbery rate and the burglary rate in Cincinnati. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) of models show that nightlight gradients improve the fitness of models of street robbery and burglary. Also, nightlight gradients make a positive impact on the street robbery rate whilst a negative impact on the burglary rate, both of which are statistically significant under the alpha level of 0.05. The different impacts on these two types of crimes may be explained by the nature of crimes and the in-situ characteristics, including nightlight.


Empirica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-731
Author(s):  
Franz Hackl ◽  
Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

Abstract E-commerce has become an integral part of the world’s economy. In this study we investigate the impact of service quality in e-tailing on site visits and consumer demand. Such an analysis is important given the almost Bertrand-like competitive structure. Our analysis is based on a large representative data set obtained from a price comparison site covering essentially the complete Austrian e-tailing market. Customer evaluations for a broad range of 15 different service characteristics are condensed using factor analysis. Negative binomial regression analysis is used to measure the impact of service quality dimensions on referral requests to online shops for different product categories. Our results show that the most important service quality aspects are those related to the ordering process and the firm’s website performance.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Euchner ◽  
Elena Frech

Abstract Although the scholarship on legislative behaviour widely agrees that electoral rules determine parliamentary activities, surprisingly little is known on the impact of gender quotas. We contribute to this research gap by developing an innovative interdisciplinary framework and by exploring it based on a unique dataset on varying gender quota designs throughout EU countries and parties running for the 7th term of the European Parliament (2009–2014). Based on the scholarship on gender diversity in management teams and the research on gendered processes in political parties, we argue that especially mandated gender quotas stimulate processes of social categorisation, intergroup biasing and competition due to a normative mis-fit between conceptions of gender equality and gender quotas, which in turn influences coordination and communication and hence, parliamentary activity more generally. Combining negative-binomial regression models and expert interviews, we indeed find that mandated gender quotas promote ‘individual’ parliamentary activities (e.g. speeches) and tend to impede ‘collaborative’ parliamentary activities (e.g. reports).


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 808-828
Author(s):  
Woojae Han ◽  
Jason Matejkowski ◽  
Sungkyu Lee

Little is known about how mental health court (MHC) experiences (including satisfaction and sanctioning, incentivizing, and life change events) differ by race and how this variation affects recidivism among MHC participants. This study examined how MHC experiences and recidivism differ between White ( n = 170) and Black ( n = 132) participants from four different MHCs in the United Sates. Negative binomial regression models, conducted separately for the two groups, indicated that life changes were associated with decreased arrests and that court sanctions were associated with increased number of arrests for both White and Black participants. Higher program satisfaction was positively associated with recidivism among Black participants only. To provide equitable services for people convicted of a crime with mental illness, professionals should acknowledge racial variation in the experiences of MHC participants (both within the MHC and the communities in which they are situated) and how these experiences relate to recidivism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8155
Author(s):  
Donald A. Chapman ◽  
Johan Eyckmans ◽  
Karel Van Acker

Private car-use is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. Car-sharing is often hypothesised as a potential solution to reduce car-ownership, which can lead to car-sharing users reducing their car-use. However, there is a risk that car-sharing may also increase car-use amongst some users. Existing studies on the impacts of car-sharing on car-use are often based on estimates of the users’ own judgement of the effects; few studies make use of quasi-experimental methods. In this paper, the impact of car-sharing on car-ownership and car-use in Flanders, Belgium is estimated using survey data from both sharers and non-sharers. The impact on car-use is estimated using zero-inflated negative binomial regression, applied to matched samples of car-sharing users and non-users. The results show that the car-sharing may reduce car-use, but only if a significant number of users reduce their car-ownership. Policy intervention may therefore be required to ensure car-sharing leads to a reduction in car-use by, for example, discouraging car-ownership. Further research using quasi-experimental methods is required to illuminate whether the promise of car-sharing is reflected in reality.


Author(s):  
Xiaohua Ye ◽  
Jingya Huang ◽  
Liang Xia ◽  
Xiaojun Xu ◽  
Xiao Gong ◽  
...  

Few studies have focused on the potential relationship between secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to explore the potential association between SHS exposure and depressive symptoms and differentiate this association in setting-specific exposure and symptom-specific outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Guangdong province of China from September to December 2010 using a multistage sampling method to randomly sample adults aged 18 years and older. SHS exposure was defined as inhalation by non-smokers of the smoke exhaled from smokers for at least 1 day a week in the past 30 days. Depressive symptoms were measured using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire. The zero-inflate negative binomial regression models were used to explore the associations between SHS exposure and depressive symptoms. A total of 2771 non-smokers were included in this study, with mean age of 49.6 ± 14.0 years and 70.3% of females. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly higher in participants with SHS exposure than in those without exposure (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16–1.51), and there were similar positive associations for SHS exposure in medical facilities (IRR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.17–1.61) and in schools (IRR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.20–1.77). Notably, there was a monotonically increasing dose-response relationship between frequency of SHS exposure and depressive symptoms. When differentiating this relationship by the dimensions of depressive symptoms, there were similar dose-response relationships for cognitive-affective and somatic symptoms. When differentiating this relationship by sex, only females showed a significant dose-response relationship. Our findings suggest dose-response relationships between SHS exposure and depressive symptoms in sex-specific and symptom-specific manners. Future longitudinal studies are needed to establish the biological mechanisms of the impact of SHS exposure.


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