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Education as a predictor of antidepressant and anxiolytic medication use after bereavement: a population-based record linkage study.
- Source :
- Quality of Life Research; May2017, Vol. 26 Issue 5, p1251-1262, 12p, 3 Charts, 1 Graph
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- <bold>Purpose: </bold>Educational attainment has been shown to be positively associated with mental health and a potential buffer to stressful events. One stressful life event likely to affect everyone in their lifetime is bereavement. This paper assesses the effect of educational attainment on mental health post-bereavement.<bold>Methods: </bold>By utilising large administrative datasets, linking Census returns to death records and prescribed medication data, we analysed the bereavement exposure of 208,332 individuals aged 25-74 years. Two-level multi-level logistic regression models were constructed to determine the likelihood of antidepressant medication use (a proxy of mental ill health) post-bereavement given level of educational attainment.<bold>Results: </bold>Individuals who are bereaved have greater antidepressant use than those who are not bereaved, with over a quarter (26.5 %) of those bereaved by suicide in receipt of antidepressant medication compared to just 12.4 % of those not bereaved. Within individuals bereaved by a sudden death, those with a university degree or higher qualifications are 73 % less likely to be in receipt of antidepressant medication compared to those with no qualifications, after full adjustment for demographic, socio-economic and area factors (OR 0.27, 95 % CI 0.09,0.75). Higher educational attainment and no qualifications have an equivalent effect for those bereaved by suicide.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Education may protect against poor mental health, as measured by the use of antidepressant medication, post-bereavement, except in those bereaved by suicide. This is likely due to the improved cognitive, personal and psychological skills gained from time spent in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09629343
- Volume :
- 26
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Quality of Life Research
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 122289197
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1440-1