Socio-economic position and common mental disorders. Longitudinal study in the general population in the UK.

BACKGROUND Individuals in lower socio-economic groups have an increased prevalence of common mental disorders. AIMS To investigate the longitudinal association between socio-economic position and common mental disorders in a general population sample in the UK. METHOD Participants (n=2406) were assessed at two time points 18 months apart with the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule. The sample was stratified into two cohorts according to mental health status at baseline. RESULTS None of the socio-economic indicators studied was significantly associated with an episode of common mental disorder at follow-up after adjusting for baseline psychiatric morbidity. The analysis of separate diagnostic categories showed that subjective financial difficulties at baseline were independently associated with depression at follow-up in both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the view that apart from objective measures of socio-economic position, more subjective measures might be equally important from an aetiological or clinical perspective.