A recent JAMA Psychiatry study determines whether residential moves during childhood and varying levels of neighborhood income deprivation are correlated with depression risk in adulthood. Study: Changing Neighborhood Income Deprivation Over Time, Moving in Childhood, and Adult Risk of Depression. Image Credit: Studio Romantic / Shutterstock.
com Mental health issues and early life experiences The global economic burden associated with mental illness is predicted to increase to $6 trillion USD by 2030, which surpasses the combined costs of diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases. The causes of mental illnesses are multifaceted and may include socioeconomic, biological, and psychological factors. Income and neighborhood-level characteristics can positively or negatively affect an individual's health.
Positive social interactions, for example, can give individuals a sense of control over their surroundings, reducing the risk of depression. Adulthood depression and childhood deprivation are positively associated. Children who frequently move residences are often at a greater risk of mental health issues later in life, which could be due to disruptions in social networks, family routines, and emotional relationships.
Thus, childhood residential mobility may serve as a potential risk factor for mental health disorders later in life. About the study The current study utilized national Danish registers to test the hypothesis that greater residential movement during childho.