Thu T. Nguyen|Eric J. Tchetgen Tchetgen|Ichiro Kawachi|Stephen E. Gilman|Stefan Walter|M. Maria Glymour
The role of literacy in the association between educational attainment and depressive symptoms
University of California, San Francisco|Harvard University|Harvard University|Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development|Harvard University|University of California, San Francisco|University of California, San Francisco
consistent association education depressive symptoms research mechanisms explain association remains limited study formally evaluated extent association education depressive symptoms mediated foundational skill literacy inverse odds ratio weighting iorw used estimate total natural direct natural indirect effects examining literacy mediator association education depressive symptoms health retirement study participants born us 1900 1947 interviewed biennially 12 years n 16718 literacy assessed brief vocabulary measure depressive symptoms measured using 8item centers epidemiologic studiesdepression cesd scale decomposition estimates derived using regression analyses repeated measures depressive symptoms standard errors obtained using nonparametric bootstrap individual independent unit account dependence observations within individual large cohort older americans one standard deviation difference educational attainment 3 years associated 035point decrement cesd score 95 ci 038 032 decrement represents 022 standard deviation difference depressive symptoms using iorw estimated effect education depressive symptoms mediated literacy 010 95 ci 018 001 represents 28 total effect education confers many benefits demonstrated study depressive symptoms one important benefit literacy