The Public Health Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Adolescent Depression and Obesity

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We examined the public health impact of the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient on adolescents' physical and mental health. METHODS: Population attributable risk (PAR) for household income and parental education were calculated relative to depression and obesity among a nationally representative sample of 15,112 adolescents. RESULTS: PARs for income and education were large. Across each gender and race/ethnicity group, the PAR for education tended to exceed that for income. For depression, the adjusted PAR for income was 26%, and the PAR for education was 40%; for obesity, the adjusted PAR for income was 32%, and the PAR for education was 39%. CONCLUSIONS: SES is associated with a large proportion of the disease burden within the total population.