European journal of public health
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Eur J Public Health · Dec 2015
Structural neighbourhood conditions, social cohesion and psychological distress in the Netherlands.
Neighbourhood inequalities in psychological distress are well reported, but underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The main purposes of this study were to investigate associations between structural neighbourhood conditions and psychological distress, and to explore the potential mediating role of neighbourhood social cohesion. ⋯ High neighbourhood social cohesion is significantly associated with decreased psychological distress among residents of the four largest cities in the Netherlands. Reducing neighbourhood inequalities in psychological distress may require increasing social interactions among neighbourhood residents.
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Eur J Public Health · Dec 2015
Health inequality between immigrants and natives in Spain: the loss of the healthy immigrant effect in times of economic crisis.
The immigrant population living in Spain grew exponentially in the early 2000s but has been particularly affected by the economic crisis. This study aims to analyse health inequalities between immigrants born in middle- or low-income countries and natives in Spain, in 2006 and 2012, taking into account gender, year of arrival and socioeconomic exposures. ⋯ Between 2006 and 2012, immigrants who arrived in Spain before 2006 appeared to worsen their health status when compared with natives. The loss of the healthy immigrant effect in the context of a worse impact of the economic crisis on immigrants appears as potential explanation. Employment, social protection and re-universalization of healthcare would prevent further deterioration of immigrants' health status.
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Eur J Public Health · Dec 2015
Prenatal stress and childhood asthma in the offspring: role of age at onset.
Asthma is a heterogeneous disorder with different phenotypes, and age at onset may define part of them. Little is known about possible association between prenatal stress and asthma phenotypes according to age at onset. We aim to investigate whether there is an association between prenatal stress and asthma, and if so, whether such an association differs according to age at asthma onset. ⋯ Prenatal stress is possibly associated with asthma events in children aged 0-3 years, but not with asthma in children aged 4-15 years irrespective of age at asthma onset.