TY - JOUR
T1 - Subjective social status predicts wintertime febrile acute respiratory illness among women healthcare personnel
AU - Thompson, Mark G.
AU - Naleway, Allison
AU - Ball, Sarah
AU - Henkle, Emily M.
AU - Sokolow, Leslie Z.
AU - Williams, Jennifer
AU - Reynolds, Sue
AU - Spencer, Sarah
AU - Shay, David K.
AU - Brennan, Beth
AU - Gaglani, Manjusha J.
PY - 2014/3
Y1 - 2014/3
N2 - Objective: We ask whether subjective social status (SSS) predicts rates of wintertime febrile acute respiratory illness (ARI). Methods: 1,373 women and 346 men were enrolled from September 1 through November 30, 2010 as part of a prospective cohort study of health care personnel (HCP) at two medical centers. A questionnaire was completed at enrollment followed by 20 weeks of surveillance. ARI was an illness with fever and cough self-reported via weekly telephone or Internet-based surveillance. Results: For both sexes, lower SSS was associated with younger age, less education, lower neighborhood household income, being unmarried, lower occupational status, working in outpatient settings, and poorer self-rated health status. Demographic and occupational covariates explained 23% and 42% of the variance (R2) in SSS among women and men, respectively. Smoking, exercise frequency, and sleep quality were also associated with SSS, but these factors explained little additional variance (3-4%). Among women HCP, lower SSS at enrollment was associated with higher rates of subsequent ARI (unadjusted β = -21 [± .05], p < .001 for ordinal data). Adjusting for all covariates reduced the effect size of the SSS minimally (adjusted β = -19 [± .06], p < .001). Among men HCP, there was no univariate SSS-ARI association and after adjusting for all covariates the effect was opposite of our hypothesis (adjusted β = .33 [± .17], p < .05). Conclusions: Women (but not men) with lower SSS were more likely to report an ARI during surveillance, and the SSS-ARI association was independent of demographics, occupational status, health, and health behaviors.
AB - Objective: We ask whether subjective social status (SSS) predicts rates of wintertime febrile acute respiratory illness (ARI). Methods: 1,373 women and 346 men were enrolled from September 1 through November 30, 2010 as part of a prospective cohort study of health care personnel (HCP) at two medical centers. A questionnaire was completed at enrollment followed by 20 weeks of surveillance. ARI was an illness with fever and cough self-reported via weekly telephone or Internet-based surveillance. Results: For both sexes, lower SSS was associated with younger age, less education, lower neighborhood household income, being unmarried, lower occupational status, working in outpatient settings, and poorer self-rated health status. Demographic and occupational covariates explained 23% and 42% of the variance (R2) in SSS among women and men, respectively. Smoking, exercise frequency, and sleep quality were also associated with SSS, but these factors explained little additional variance (3-4%). Among women HCP, lower SSS at enrollment was associated with higher rates of subsequent ARI (unadjusted β = -21 [± .05], p < .001 for ordinal data). Adjusting for all covariates reduced the effect size of the SSS minimally (adjusted β = -19 [± .06], p < .001). Among men HCP, there was no univariate SSS-ARI association and after adjusting for all covariates the effect was opposite of our hypothesis (adjusted β = .33 [± .17], p < .05). Conclusions: Women (but not men) with lower SSS were more likely to report an ARI during surveillance, and the SSS-ARI association was independent of demographics, occupational status, health, and health behaviors.
KW - Acute respiratory illness
KW - Psychoneuroimmunology
KW - Sleep
KW - Socioeconomic status
KW - Subjective social status
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U2 - 10.1037/a0032764
DO - 10.1037/a0032764
M3 - Article
C2 - 23795705
AN - SCOPUS:84895867653
SN - 0278-6133
VL - 33
SP - 282
EP - 291
JO - Health Psychology
JF - Health Psychology
IS - 3
ER -