Table 3

ORs for major depressive disorder according to individual- and area-level characteristics for women (n=10 335) who completed the Health and Life Experiences Questionnaire in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort

Characteristic*ORs and 95% CI
Model A†P-value for model AModel B‡P-value for model BModel C§P-value for model C
Individual-level variables
Sociodemographics
 Age (per 10 years)0.54 (0.46 to 0.64)<0.00010.62 (0.52 to 0.74)<0.00010.59 (0.50 to 0.71)<0.0001
Education¶
  Low1.23 (0.97 to 1.56)0.08901.29 (1.01 to 1.65)0.04121.30 (1.02 to 1.66)0.0356
  High1.001.001.00
Marital status
  Single0.93 (0.48 to 1.78)<0.00010.91 (0.48 to 1.75)<0.00010.91 (0.47 to 1.75)<0.0001
  Married1.001.001.00
  Other**2.56 (2.00 to 3.27)2.41 (1.87 to 3.10)2.36 (1.83 to 3.04)
Social class††
  Manual0.95 (0.75 to 1.21)0.69640.99 (0.77 to 1.27)0.95300.97 (0.76 to 1.25)0.8225
  Non-manual1.001.001.00
Employment††
  No1.87 (1.42 to 2.48)<0.00011.62 (1.21 to 2.15)0.00101.55 (1.17 to 2.06)0.0026
  Yes1.001.00
Health status
Lifetime GAD
  Yes7.97 (5.99 to 10.60)<0.00017.37 (5.52 to 9.83)<0.0001
  No1.001.00
Prevalent physical disease
 Yes‡‡1.25 (0.98 to 1.59)0.0682
  No1.00
Disability level
 High§§1.41 (1.11 to 1.79)0.0045
  Low1.00
Area-level variable
Townsend index
Deprivation
  Above average deprivation (>0)1.40 (1.07 to 1.84)0.01321.26 (0.95 to 1.67)0.10811.24 (0.93 to 1.65)0.1425
  Below average deprivation (≤0)1.001.001.00
  • *The brackets show the reference categories that were used for each categorical variable when it was entered in the models—below average deprivation (ref) versus above average deprivation; education: high (ref) versus low; marital status: married (ref), single, others; social class: non-manual (ref) versus manual; employment: yes (ref) versus no; lifetime GAD: no (ref) versus yes; prevalent physical disease: no (ref) versus yes; disability level: low (ref) versus high. These reference categories were based on the literature.

  • †Adjusted for age, sociodemographics (education, marital status, social class, employment status).

  • ‡Adjusted for age, sociodemographics, lifetime GAD.

  • §Adjusted for age, sociodemographics, lifetime GAD, physical diseases and disability.

  • ¶High education: O-level, A-level, degree; low education: refers to no education.

  • **Other: divorced, separated, widowed.

  • **††Manual: skilled manual, semi-skilled, non-skilled; non-manual: professionals, managerial, skilled non-manual.

  • ‡‡Prevalent physical disease: respiratory disease (asthma, bronchitis), allergies (allergies, hay fever), stroke, heart attack, cancer, diabetes, thyroid conditions, arthritis.

  • §§Below the PCS value of 50.6.

  • GAD, generalised anxiety disorder; PCS, physical component summary.