Gender differences in the association between modifiable risk factors and financial hardship among middle-aged and older adults

Abstract

Objective To identify associations between modifiable risk factors (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity) and financial hardship (difficulty paying bills, food insecurity and medication need) among middle-aged and older Americans in a nationally representative sample. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 8212 persons age 50 years and older who completed the core 2010 Health and Retirement Study survey and the psychosocial questionnaire. We ran separate multinomial logistic regressions to assess the association of three modifiable risk factors and three different financial hardship indicators. Results Adjusting for all covariates, compared to men of normal weight, men who were obese had a 1.4 greater odds of difficulty paying their bills (95% CI: 1.08–1.76); former smokers had a 1.8 greater odds of being food insecure (95% CI: 1.05–2.95); current smokers were twice as likely to be food insecure (95% CI: 1.21–3.73); Compared to women who never smoked, current smokers had a 1.5 greater odds of having difficulty paying their bills (95% CI: 1.11–2.02); current smokers had a 1.8 greater odds of being food insecure (95% CI: 1.13–2.91); and women who were obese had a 1.5 greater odds of reducing medication due to cost (95% CI: 1.11, 2.02). Conclusion Our findings contribute to the literature on health behaviors and financial hardship by highlighting the cyclical nature between different indicators of socioeconomic status, modifiable risk factors, and poor health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults. Furthermore, findings highlight how modifiable risk factors may culminate in financial hardship in later life.

Estrogen Suppresses Cytokines Release in cc4821 Neisseria meningitidis Infection via TLR4 and ERβ-p38-MAPK Pathway

“…As an important signaling pathway of innate immunity, the MAPK signaling pathway is very sensitive to the changes and metabolism of intracellular inflammatory factors. After activation, the MAPK signaling pathway plays an important role in the inflammatory response, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, apoptosis, cell invasion, and other reactions ( Sprong et al, 2004 ; Holm et al, 2010 ; Farooq, 2015 ; Marshall et al, 2019 ). In N. meningitidis -infected cells, the MAPK signaling pathway was activated and the expression of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α increased.…”

“…Activated p38-MAPK positively regulates the expression of many inflammation-related genes, such as those encoding TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8. Previous studies have shown that SB203580, as a specific inhibitor of p38, could regulate and reduce the production of proinflammatory cytokines after inhibition of p38-MAPK ( Frieling et al, 1997 ; Braun et al, 2002 ; Sprong et al, 2004 ; Li et al, 2017 ; Marshall et al, 2019 ). To verify the role of p38 in the E2 effect, we pretreated HBMECs and MECs infected with N. meningitidis with the p38 inhibitor SB203580.…”

The Association Between Problem Recognition, Race/Ethnicity, and Professional Help-Seeking Intentions Across Psychological Disorders

“…The level of difficulty paying monthly bills continuous variable was measured using a 5-point Likert scale ("1" ¼ not hard to "5" ¼ very hard). This variable is commonly used as an indicator of financial hardship, as well as socioeconomic status (Marshall et al, 2019).…”

Three studies on psychological distress, health-risk behaviors, and health care access among Chinese, Filipino, and Asian Indian American Subgroups

“…Participants who were current smokers had 1.88 greater odds of being food insecure compared to those who never smoked (OR=1.88; 95% CI: 2.54-4.43). Similarly, former smokers also had greater odds of being food insecure compared to those who had never smoked (OR=1.35; 95% CI: 1.34-2.65) (Marshall et al, 2019).…”