ArticleJournal of epidemiology and community health2016
Residential segregation, dividing walls and mental health: a population-based record linkage study.
Article in Journal of epidemiology and community health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The ethnic density effect in psychosis: a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2021Pooled it
- Antidepressant and anxiolytic medications and risk of mortality in people with dementia: A nested case-control study in Northern Ireland.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Honouring complexity and social justice in mental health: The socio-political economy of global mental health framework.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Stage at diagnosis and breast cancer-specific mortality in breast cancer patients treated with antidepressants, anxiolytics, and antipsychotics: a population-based cohort study from Northern Ireland.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2025Article
- Assessing the mental health impacts of Israeli occupation infrastructure in the West Bank by combining geospatial data with a representative survey of Palestinian youth.Health & place · 2025Article
- Article
- Residential segregation and prenatal depression in a non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic cohort in North Carolina.Annals of epidemiology · 2023Article
- The psychology of separation: Border walls, soft power, and international neighborliness.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Association between neighbourhood characteristics and antidepressant use at older ages: a register-based study of urban areas in three European countries.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2021Article
- The association between self-reported mental health, medication record and suicide risk: A population wide study.SSM - population health · 2021Article
- Documenting Behavioral Health Needs in an Urban Setting.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Factors Associated with Mortality Including Nursing Home Transitions: A Retrospective Analysis of 25,418 People Prescribed Anti-Dementia Drugs in Northern Ireland.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2020Article
- Antidepressant medication use among working age first-generation migrants resident in Finland: an administrative data linkage study.International journal for equity in health · 2019Article
- Depression among Black Youth; Interaction of Class and Place.Brain sciences · 2018Article
- Consanguineous Marriage and the Psychopathology of Progeny: A Population-wide Data Linkage Study.JAMA psychiatry · 2018Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNeighbourhood segregation has been described as a fundamental determinant of physical health, but literature on its effect on mental health is less clear. While most previous research has relied on conceptualised measures of segregation, Northern Ireland is unique as it contains physical manifestations of segregation in the form of segregation barriers (or 'peacelines') which can be used to accurately identify residential segregation.
methodsWe used population-wide health record data on over 1.3 million individuals, to analyse the effect of residential segregation, measured by both the formal Dissimilarity Index and by proximity to a segregation barrier, on the likelihood of poor mental health.
resultsUsing multilevel logistic regression models, we found residential segregation measured by the Dissimilarity Index poses no additional risk to the likelihood of poor mental health after adjustment for area-level deprivation. However, residence in an area segregated by a 'peaceline' increases the likelihood of antidepressant medication by 19% (OR=1.19, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.23) and anxiolytic medication by 39% (OR=1.39, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.48), even after adjustment for gender, age, conurbation, deprivation and crime.
conclusionsLiving in an area segregated by a 'peaceline' is detrimental to mental health suggesting segregated areas characterised by a heightened sense of 'other' pose a greater risk to mental health. The difference in results based on segregation measure highlights the importance of choice of measure when studying segregation.
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