Background Acquisition of a disability in adulthood has been associated with a reduction in mental health. We tested the hypothesis that low wealth prior to disability acquisition is associated with a greater deterioration in mental health than for people with high wealth. Methods We assess whether level of wealth prior to disability acquisition modifies this association using 12 waves of data (2001–2012) from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey–a population-based cohort study of working-age Australians. Eligible participants reported at least two consecutive waves of disability preceded by at least two consecutive waves without disability (1977 participants, 13,518 observations). Fixed-effects linear regression was conducted with a product term between wealth prior to disability (in tertiles) and disability acquisition with the mental health component score of the SF–36 as the outcome. Results In models adjusted for time-varying confounders, there was evidence of negative effect measure modification by prior wealth of the association between disability acquisition and mental health (interaction term for lowest wealth tertile: -2.2 points, 95% CI -3.1 points, -1.2, p<0.001); low wealth was associated with a greater decline in mental health following disability acquisition (-3.3 points, 95% CI -4.0, -2.5) than high wealth (-1.1 points, 95% CI -1.7, -0.5). Conclusion The findings suggest that low wealth prior to disability acquisition in adulthood results in a greater deterioration in mental health than among those with high wealth.
Gender and Women’s Health, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010 VIC, Australia;Gender and Women’s Health, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010 VIC, Australia;Gender and Women’s Health, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010 VIC, Australia;Population Health Strategic Research Centre, School of Health & Social Development, Deakin University, Building BC3.213, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia;McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010 VIC, Australia;Gender and Women’s Health, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010 VIC, Australia;McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010 VIC, Australia
Recommended Citation:
Anne Marie Kavanagh,Zoe Aitken,Lauren Krnjacki,et al. Mental Health Following Acquisition of Disability in Adulthood—The Impact of Wealth[J]. PLOS ONE,2015-01-01,10(10)