Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 14;19(24):16765.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416765.

Social Determinants of Mental, Physical, and Oral Health of Middle-Aged and Older African Americans in South Los Angeles

Edward Adinkrah  1 , Babak Najand  2 , Arash Rahmani  2 , Najmeh Maharlouei  2 , Tavonia Ekwegh  3 , Sharon Cobb  3 , Hossein Zare  4   5
Affiliations

Social Determinants of Mental, Physical, and Oral Health of Middle-Aged and Older African Americans in South Los Angeles

Edward Adinkrah et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: A growing body of research suggests that financial difficulties could weaken the protective effects of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators, including education and income, on the health status of marginalized communities, such as African Americans.

Aim: We investigated the separate and joint effects of education, income, and financial difficulties on mental, physical, and oral self-rated health (SRH) outcomes in African American middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 150 middle-aged and older African Americans residing in South Los Angeles. Data on demographic factors (age and gender), socioeconomic characteristics (education, income, and financial difficulties), and self-rated health (mental, physical, and oral health) were collected. Three linear regression models were used to analyze the data.

Results: Higher education and income were associated with a lower level of financial strain in a bivariate analysis. However, according to multivariable models, only financial difficulties were associated with poor mental, physical, and oral health. As similar patterns emerged for all three health outcomes, the risk associated with financial difficulties seems robust.

Conclusions: According to our multivariable models, financial strain is a more salient social determinant of health within African American communities than education and income in economically constrained urban environments such as South Los Angeles. While education and income lose some protective effects, financial strain continues to deteriorate the health of African American communities across domains.

Keywords: financial strain; income; middle-aged and older adults; socioeconomic position; socioeconomic status.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study conceptual model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Oakes J.M., Rossi P.H. The measurement of SES in health research: Current practice and steps toward a new approach. Soc. Sci. Med. 2003;56:769–784. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00073-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Szanton S.L., Thorpe R.J., Whitfield K. Life-course financial strain and health in African–Americans. Soc. Sci. Med. 2010;71:259–265. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.001. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Link B.G., Phelan J. The social shaping of health and smoking. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009;104((Suppl. S1)):S6–S10. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.03.002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Link B.G., Phelan J. Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. J. Health Soc. Behav. 1995:80–94. doi: 10.2307/2626958. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Masters R.K., Link B.G., Phelan J.C. Trends in education gradients of ‘preventable’ mortality: A test of fundamental cause theory. Soc. Sci. Med. 2015;127:19–28. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.023. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types