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The Demography of Mental Health Among Mature Adults in a Low-Income, High-HIV-Prevalence Context

Author

Listed:
  • Iliana V. Kohler

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Collin F. Payne

    (Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies)

  • Chiwoza Bandawe

    (College of Medicine)

  • Hans-Peter Kohler

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

Very few studies have investigated mental health in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using data from Malawi, this article provides a first picture of the demography of depression and anxiety (DA) among mature adults (aged 45 or older) in a low-income country with high HIV prevalence. DA are more frequent among women than men, and individuals affected by one are often affected by the other. DA are associated with adverse outcomes, such as poorer nutrition intake and reduced work efforts. DA also increase substantially with age, and mature adults can expect to spend a substantial fraction of their remaining lifetime—for instance, 52 % for a 55-year-old woman—affected by DA. The positive age gradients of DA are not due to cohort effects, and they are in sharp contrast to the age pattern of mental health that has been shown in high-income contexts, where older individuals often experience lower levels of DA. Although socioeconomic and risk- or uncertainty-related stressors are strongly associated with DA, they do not explain the positive age gradients and gender gap in DA. Stressors related to physical health, however, do. Hence, our analyses suggest that the general decline of physical health with age is the key driver of the rise of DA with age in this low-income SSA context.

Suggested Citation

  • Iliana V. Kohler & Collin F. Payne & Chiwoza Bandawe & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2017. "The Demography of Mental Health Among Mature Adults in a Low-Income, High-HIV-Prevalence Context," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(4), pages 1529-1558, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:54:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-017-0596-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-017-0596-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Tyler W. Myroniuk & Hans-Peter Kohler & Iliana Kohler, 2021. "Marital dissolutions and changes in mental health: Evidence from rural Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(41), pages 993-1022.
    2. Philip Anglewicz & Mark VanLandingham & Lucinda Manda-Taylor & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2018. "Health Selection, Migration, and HIV Infection in Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 979-1007, June.
    3. Collin F. Payne & Luca Maria Pesando & Hans‐Peter Kohler, 2019. "Private Intergenerational Transfers, Family Structure, and Health in a sub‐Saharan African Context," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 41-80, March.
    4. Fabrice Kämpfen & Iliana V Kohler & Alberto Ciancio & Wändi Bruine de Bruin & Jürgen Maurer & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2020. "Predictors of mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the US: Role of economic concerns, health worries and social distancing," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-13, November.
    5. Vani S. Kulkarni & Veena S. Kulkarni & Raghav Gaiha & Katsushi S. Imai, 2023. "Changes in Subjective Well-Being in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 607-644, August.
    6. Confidence Alorse Atakro & Abigail Atakro & Janet Sintim Aboagye & Alice Aluwah Blay & Stella Boatemaa Addo & Dorcas Frempomaa Agyare & Peter Adatara & Kwaku Gyimah Amoa-Gyarteng & Awube Menlah & Isab, 2021. "Older people’s challenges and expectations of healthcare in Ghana: A qualitative study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, January.
    7. Collin F. Payne & Iliana V. Kohler & Chiwoza Bandawe & Kathy Lawler & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2018. "Cognition, Health, and Well-Being in a Rural Sub-Saharan African Population," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(4), pages 637-662, October.

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