Mental disorders contribute substantially to the global burden of disease. The neighbourhood socioeconomic environment is a key determinant of mental health, even after accounting for individual-level socioeconomic factors. However, few longitudinal studies have examined this relationship. This study examined longitudinal associations between neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and psychological distress from three perspectives: overall associations, trends over time and changing neighbourhood exposures.
Data were from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey wave 7 (2007) to wave 21 (2021), a nationally representative household-based cohort study, including 109 604 observations. Mental health was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), analysed as a continuous variable, score range 10–50. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was measured using derived spatially and temporally consistent census-based data, analysed in quintiles. Multilevel and fixed effects linear regression models were used.
Psychological distress increased with neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage, with K10 scores 1.35 points higher (95% CI 1.14 to 1.55) in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods compared with the least. However, the rate of change in distress over time did not vary by neighbourhood disadvantage. An association was observed between changes in disadvantage and changes in psychological distress for the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
The findings from nationally representative longitudinal data show that individuals living in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods consistently experienced higher psychological distress compared with those in less disadvantaged neighbourhoods. These inequalities remained stable over time, and limited evidence of change suggests that the association may reflect persistent differences between individuals living in different neighbourhoods.