Gender inequalities in the prevalence of low mood and related factors in schooled adolescents during the 2019-2020 school year: DESKcohort project.

Helena Gonzalez-Casals, Jaume Vives, Marina Bosque-Prous, Cinta Folch, Gemma Drou-Roget, Carles Muntaner, Carmen Vives-Cases, María Gabriela Barbaglia, Joan Colom, Albert Espelt

Journal: Journal of affective disorders 2023;333():305-312

PMID: 37084966

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Abstract

BACKGROUND

Mood disorders are the second most prevalent mental disorders in childhood and adolescence. Many undiagnosed people manifest subthreshold symptoms, like low mood, and present worse prognoses than asymptomatic healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of low mood, gender inequalities, and associated factors, in 12- to 18-year-old adolescents in the rural and medium-sized urban areas of Central Catalonia during the 2019-2020 academic year.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study with data from a cohort of high-schooled students (2019-2020), with a convenience sample of 6428 adolescents from the Central region of Catalonia (48.3 % boys and 51.7 % girls). Prevalence of low mood was estimated by gender and exposure variables, and ratios were obtained using Poisson regression models, adjusting for several exposure variables one by one, and for all of them jointly.

RESULTS

The prevalence of low mood was 18.6 %, with statistically significant differences between genders (11.6 %, 95 % CI: 10.5-12.8 in boys and 25.1 %, 95 % CI: 23.7-26.6 in girls). Being an immigrant, dieting, and daily tobacco smoking were only associated with low mood in girls, whereas risky alcohol consumption was only associated in boys. Sexual violence was found to account for 36.2 % of low mood problems in girls.

LIMITATIONS

The main limitation of the study is its cross-sectional design, which means that no casual relationships can be extracted of this study.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of low mood varies between the sexes, highlighting the importance of developing gender-specific interventions to reduce its incidence in young people, considering the factors associated with this condition.

Address: Research Group in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Digital Health context (epi4Health), Department of Epidemiology and Methodology of Social and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences of Manresa, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Av. Universitària, 4-6, 08242 Manresa, Spain.; Research Group in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Digital Health context (epi4Health), Department of Psychobiology and Methodology in Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), C/de Ca n'Altayó, s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.; Research Group in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Digital Health context (epi4Health), Department of Psychobiology and Methodology in Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), C/de Ca n'Altayó, s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; Research Group in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Digital Health context (epi4Health), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Rambla del Poblenou, 156, 08018 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].; Centre d'Estudis Epidemiològics sobre les Infeccions de Transmissió Sexual i Sida de Catalunya (CEEISCAT), Generalitat de Catalunya, Carretera de Canyet, s/n, 08916 Badalona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, Pabellón 11, Planta 0, 28029 Madrid, Spain.; Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON M6H 1B7, Canada.; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, Pabellón 11, Planta 0, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and Science History, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra. De San Vicente del Raspeig, s/n, 03690 Alicante, Spain.; Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Pl. de Lesseps, 1, 08023 Barcelona, Spain; Department de Experimental and Health Sciences, Univeristat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè, 10-12, 08002 Barcelona, Spain.; Sub-Direcció General d'Addiccions, VIH, Infeccions de Transmissió Sexual i Hepatitis Víriques, Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, Carrer de Roc Boronat, 81-95, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.; Research Group in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Digital Health context (epi4Health), Department of Epidemiology and Methodology of Social and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences of Manresa, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Av. Universitària, 4-6, 08242 Manresa, Spain; Research Group in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Digital Health context (epi4Health), Department of Psychobiology and Methodology in Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), C/de Ca n'Altayó, s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, Pabellón 11, Planta 0, 28029 Madrid, Spain.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.04.058