Late childhood peer group status linked to heightened adult circulatory disease risk

Unpopular pre-teens at significantly higher risk of heart and blood vessel conditions

September 15, 2020

Science Daily/BMJ

Late childhood peer group status may be linked to a heightened risk of developing circulatory system disease -- conditions that affect the normal functioning of the heart and blood vessels -- in later life, indicates research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

13-year olds who aren't very popular with their classmates seem to be at significantly increased risk, the findings indicate.

Childhood family circumstances and living conditions are important predictors of subsequent mental and physical health. But it's not entirely clear what impact peer group status might have.

To explore this further, the researchers looked at whether peer group status among 13 year- olds might be associated with the risk of developing conditions in adulthood that affect the normal functioning of the heart and blood vessels, such as narrowed and hardened arteries and abnormal heartbeat (atrial fibrillation).

They drew on data from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study (SBC Multigen), which includes everyone born in 1953 and resident in the greater metropolitan area of Stockholm in 1963 (n=14,608).

The health of 5410 men and 5990 women, whose peer group status was known at the age of 13, was tracked into their 60s, using data from inpatient care registers.

To gauge peer group status, the 13 year olds were asked whom among their classmates they preferred to work with. Four categories were created: zero nominations (marginalised); 1 (low status); 2 or 3 (medium status); and 4 or more (high status).

Information was also obtained on family factors, such as number and position of siblings, parental education and mental health, socioeconomic conditions, and school factors, such as intellect, academic performance, and any criminal behaviour.

Slightly more of the boys enjoyed high peer group status at the age of 13 (33%; 1788) than did the girls (28.5%;1710). And more of the girls were marginalised:16% (940) vs 12% (652).

Circulatory disease was more common among the men than it was among the women:18.5% (999) vs 11% (669).

But peer group marginalisation at age 13 was associated with a significantly higher 33-34% higher risk of circulatory disease in adulthood in both sexes.

Compared with boys and girls who were very popular (high peer group status), those who were marginalised at the age of 13 remained at significantly increased risk of circulatory disease as adults after accounting for potentially influential family and school factors as well as adult mental health.

Although no longer statistically significant, a graded association was observed for girls: the less popular they were, the higher their risk of circulatory disease in adulthood.

GIrls who enjoyed medium to high peer group status were still at greater risk of circulatory disease in later life than their most popular classmates.

This is an observational study, and as such can't establish cause. Childhood peer group status was assessed at a single time point, and there was little information available about health and health behaviours from childhood into adult life, which may have skewed the findings.

But, write the researchers: "Peer relations play an important role for children's emotional and social development and may have considerable long-term implications on their health."

They add: "There is convincing evidence from neuroscience regarding how social relationships modulate neuroendocrine responses that subsequently affect the circulatory system, increasing the risk for stroke and cardiovascular diseases."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200915194255.htm

Experience of being a minority puts US teens at higher risk of anxiety, depression

September 9, 2019

Science Daily/Massachusetts General Hospital

Puerto Rican teens growing up as minorities in the South Bronx are more likely to experience anxiety and depression than their peers growing up as a majority in Puerto Rico, even under similar conditions of poverty, says a new study in World Psychiatry. Researchers looked at nearly 2,000 Puerto Rican youth over two decades to understand how minority status and factors such as racism, poverty, violence and social support influence mental health. Although youth in Puerto Rico are poorer and face more homicides than young people living in the South Bronx, the experience of living as a minority group in the United States led to worse mental health outcomes.

"How others interact with you as a minority can affect your mental health and how you see yourself. The mere experience of growing up as a minority can elevate your psychiatric risks," says lead author Margarita Alegria, PhD, chief of the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). "Exposure to racism and discrimination and the perception of low social position are consequences of minority status that may lead to depression, anxiety and feeling like 'the other,'" she adds.

The Boricua Youth Study is the first large longitudinal study examining what puts minority youth at risk for depression and anxiety. The study was conducted by Alegria and colleagues at MGH, Harvard Medical School, Columbia University and the University of Puerto Rico. Researchers looked at 1,863 Puerto Rican youth ages 15-29 living in New York's South Bronx and San Juan, Puerto Rico to explore whether growing up as part of a minority group in disadvantaged neighborhoods puts young people at risk for depression and anxiety and what factors lead to that risk. They also interviewed 1,100 parents and caregivers in both places to get their perspectives.

The researchers examined four general buckets of categories that influence mental health: environmental and social factors, cultural and minority stress, parent and peer relations, and family/individual vulnerability.

The key influencers that put teens at risk for mood disorders included perceived discrimination (i.e. neighborhood discrimination, the stress of being a minority and unfair treatment) and cultural factors (i.e. weaker ethnic identity and intercultural conflict). The strengths of childhood social support and good peer relationships explained the differences in mental health outcomes between minority/majority youth.

As a minority group, youth in the South Bronx also face complex home dynamics that could affect their mental health. Families often provide Latino youth with a sense of identity and source of connection to their culture. Researchers found that intergenerational conflicts sometimes stemmed from minority youth assimilating to New York's cultural norms.

Compared to their peers in Puerto Rico, parents in the South Bronx reported more neighborhood discrimination, a lower level of family connection and more family cultural distress. Similarly, young people in the South Bronx reported weaker ethnic identity and lower levels of familism than their peers in Puerto Rico.

The authors note that the findings have implications for immigrant youth nationally since "It is not individual risk but rather the environments and social context that could play a prominent role in the development of internalizing disorders."

Neighborhood-based interventions focused on building positive social relationships, like youth civic organizations in after school programs could be effective ways to combat anxiety and depression among minority youth, the authors add. Strong parental and peer relationships also offer these youth important buffering tools to combat the stress of discrimination and counter the negative social mirror that puts them at risk for internalizing experiences.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190909170758.htm