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Psychosocial Risk Factors and Urban/Rural Differences in the Prevalence of Major Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Bradford A. Crowell Jr
Affiliation:
Duke University Medical Center, PO Box 3215, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Linda K. George
Affiliation:
Duke University Medical Center, PO Box 3215, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Dan Blazer*
Affiliation:
Duke University Medical Center, PO Box 3215, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Richard Landerman
Affiliation:
Duke University Medical Center, PO Box 3215, Durham, NC 27710, USA
*
Correspondence

Abstract

The Piedmont Health Survey interviewed 3798 adult community residents in a region of North Carolina. Current major depression was nearly three times more common in the urban than in the rural counties; rural residence decreased the risk of major depression for some, but not all, demographic subgroups. The risk of major depression was decreased for young rural residents, compared with their urban age peers; rural residence was more protective for young women than for young men. Rural residence appears to be a buffer against major depression.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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