Tag: Urban Residents

What is the Association of Urbanicity with Schizophrenia & Related Mortality in China?

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Research Paper Title

Association of Urbanicity with Schizophrenia and Related Mortality in China: Association de l’urbanicité avec la schizophrénie et la mortalité qui y est reliée en Chine.

Background

Although higher prevalence of schizophrenia in Chinese urban areas was observed, studies focused on the association between schizophrenia and urbanicity were less in China. Using a national representative population-based data set, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between urbanicity and schizophrenia and its related mortality among adults aged 18 years old and above in China.

Methods

Data were obtained from the Second China National Sample Survey on Disability in 2006 and follow-up studies from 2007 to 2010 each year. We restricted our analysis to 1,909,205 participants aged 18 years or older and the 2,071 schizophrenia patients with information of survival and all-caused mortality of the follow-up surveys from 2007 to 2010.

Schizophrenia was ascertained according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. The degree of urbanicity and the region of residence were used to be the proxies of urbanicity. Of these, the degree of urbanicity measured by the ratio of non-agricultural population to total population and the region of residence measured by six categorical variables (first-tier cities, first-tier city suburbs, second-tier cities, second-tier city suburbs, other city areas, and rural areas).

Logistics regression models and restricted polynomial splines were used to examine the linear/nonlinear relationship between urbanicity and the risk of schizophrenia. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to test the role of urbanicity on mortality risk of schizophrenia patients.

Results

10% increase in the degree of urbanicity was associated with increased risk of schizophrenia (OR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.32 to 1.57). The nonlinear model further confirmed the association between the degree of urbanicity and the risk of schizophrenia. This association existed sex difference, as the level of urbanicity increased, schizophrenia risk of males grew faster than the risk of females. The hazard ratio (HR) of mortality in schizophrenia patients decreased with the elevated of urbanicity level, with a HR of 0.42 (95% CI, 0.21 to 0.84).

Conclusions

This research suggested that incremental changes in the degree of urbanicity linked to higher risk of schizophrenia, and as the degree of urbanicity elevated, the risk of schizophrenia increased more for men than for women. Additionally, the researchers found that schizophrenia patients in higher degree of urbanicity areas had lower risk of mortality.

These findings contributed to the literature on schizophrenia in developing nations under a non-Western context and indicates that strategies to improve mental health conditions are needed in the progress of urbanicity.

Reference

Luo, Y., Pang, L., Guo, C., Zhang, L. & Zheng, X. (2020) Association of Urbanicity with Schizophrenia and Related Mortality in China: Association de l’urbanicité avec la schizophrénie et la mortalité qui y est reliée en Chine. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. doi: 10.1177/0706743720954059. Online ahead of print.

Is Schizophrenia Associated with Urbanisation?

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Research Paper Title

Association of Urbanicity with Schizophrenia and Related Mortality in China.

Background

Although higher prevalence of schizophrenia in Chinese urban areas was observed, studies focused on the association between schizophrenia and urbanicity were less in China. Using a national representative population-based data set, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between urbanicity and schizophrenia and its related mortality among adults aged 18 years old and above in China.

Methods

Data were obtained from the Second China National Sample Survey on Disability in 2006 and follow-up studies from 2007 to 2010 each year. The researchers restricted their analysis to 1,909,205 participants aged 18 years or older and the 2,071 schizophrenia patients with information of survival and all-caused mortality of the follow-up surveys from 2007 to 2010.Schizophrenia was ascertained according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision.

The degree of urbanicity and the region of residence were used to be the proxies of urbanicity. Of these, the degree of urbanicity measured by the ratio of nonagricultural population to total population and the region of residence measured by six categorical variables (first-tier cities, first-tier city suburbs, second-tier cities, second-tier city suburbs, other city areas, and rural areas).

Logistics regression models and restricted polynomial splines were used to examine the linear/nonlinear relationship between urbanicity and the risk of schizophrenia. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to test the role of urbanicity on mortality risk of schizophrenia patients.

Results

10% increase in the degree of urbanicity was associated with increased risk of schizophrenia (OR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.32 to 1.57). The nonlinear model further confirmed the association between the degree of urbanicity and the risk of schizophrenia. This association existed sex difference, as the level of urbanicity increased, schizophrenia risk of males grew faster than the risk of females. The hazard ratio (HR) of mortality in schizophrenia patients decreased with the elevated of urbanicity level, with a HR of 0.42 (95% CI, 0.21 to 0.84).

Conclusions

This research suggested that incremental changes in the degree of urbanicity linked to higher risk of schizophrenia, and as the degree of urbanicity elevated, the risk of schizophrenia increased more for men than for women. Additionally, we found that schizophrenia patients in higher degree of urbanicity areas had lower risk of mortality.

These findings contributed to the literature on schizophrenia in developing nations under a non-Western context and indicates that strategies to improve mental health conditions are needed in the progress of urbanicity.

Reference

Luo, Y., Pang, L., Guo, C., Zhang, L. & Zheng, X. (2020) Association of Urbanicity with Schizophrenia and Related Mortality in China. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. doi: 10.1177/0706743720954059. Online ahead of print.

What is the Effect of Urbanisation on Mental Health?

Published on by Andrew Marshall1 Comment

Research Paper Title

Urbanisation and emerging mental health issues.

Background

Rapid urbanisation worldwide is associated to an increase of population in the urban settings and this is leading to new emerging mental health issues.

This narrative mini-review is based on a literature search conducted through PubMed and EMBASE.

Methods

A total of 113 articles published on the issue of urban mental health have been selected, cited, reviewed, and summarised.

Results

There are emerging evidences about the association between urbanisation and mental health issues.

Urbanisation affects mental health through social, economic, and environmental factors.

It has been shown that common mental syndromes report higher prevalence in the cities.

Social disparities, social insecurity, pollution, and the lack of contact with nature are some of recognised factors affecting urban mental health.

Conclusions

Further research studies and specific guidelines should be encouraged to help policy makers and urban designers to improve mental health and mental health care facilities in the cities; additional strategies to prevent and reduce mental illness in the urban settings should be also adopted globally.

Reference

Ventriglio, A., Torales, J., Castaldelli-Maia, J.M., De Berardis, D. & Bhugra, D. (2020) Urbanization and emerging mental health issues. CNS Spectrums. 1-8. doi: 10.1017/S1092852920001236. Online ahead of print.

Mental Health Needs & Visits: Rural vs Urban Residents

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Research Paper Title

Rural Residents With Mental Health Needs Have Fewer Care Visits Than Urban Counterparts.

Background

Analysis of a nationally representative sample of adults with mental health needs shows that rural residents have fewer ambulatory mental health visits than their urban counterparts do.

Even among people already on prescription medications for mental health conditions, rural-urban differences are large.

Reference

Kirby, J.B., Zuvekas, S.H., Borsky, A.E. & Ngo-Metzger, Q. (2019) Rural Residents With Mental Health Needs Have Fewer Care Visits Than Urban Counterparts. Health Affairs (Project Hope). 38(12), pp.2057-2060. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00369.