To examine the impact of individual and community socioeconomic status (SES) measures on mental health outcomes in individuals with arthritis, participants with self-reported arthritis completed a telephone survey assessing health status, health attitudes and beliefs, and sociodemographic variables. Regression analyses adjusting for race, gender, BMI, comorbidities, and age were performed to determine the impact of individual and community level SES on mental health outcomes (i.e., Medical Outcomes Study SF-12v2 mental health component, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health-Related Quality of Life Healthy Days Measure, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression [CES-D] scale). When entered singly, lower education and income, nonmanagerial occupation, non-homeownership, and medium and high community poverty were all significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes. Income, however, was more strongly associated with the outcomes in comparison to the other SES variables. In a model including all SES measures simultaneously, income was significantly associated with each outcome variable. Lower levels of individual and community SES showed most consistent statistical significance in association with CES-D scores. Results suggest that both individual and community level SES are associated with mental health status in people with arthritis. It is imperative to consider how interventions focused on multilevel SES factors may influence existing disparities. 1. Introduction Arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States, often results in pain and functional limitations [1]. Arthritis is also associated with negative psychological responses such as an increase in anxiety, depression, lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and feelings of helplessness [2, 3]. In fact, studies have reported that the odds of having a mental disorder are significantly higher for people with arthritis than without, particularly among diagnoses of mood and anxiety disorders [4]. Because the negative psychological impact of arthritis can be high, it is imperative to identify and understand factors that may contribute to disease burden and poor health-related quality of life. Moreover, individuals with low SES are more likely to be depressed or have poor mental health symptoms [5, 6]. Yet, the majority of studies examining the relationship between SES and health outcomes, including arthritis studies, have focused mainly on physical health outcomes [7–9]. In fact, the literature is replete with research examining the relationship
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