Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40259268›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2025

Depressive symptoms, education, gender and history of migration - an intersectional analysis using data from the German National Cohort (NAKO).

Nico Vonneilich, Heiko Becher, Klaus Berger, Patricia Bohmann, Hermann Brenner, Stefanie Castell, Nico Dragano, Volker Harth, Stefanie Jaskulski, André Karch and 16 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Redesigning medicine: integrating sex and gender for better health outcomes.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors.

Nico VonneilichInstitute of Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. n.vonneilich@uke.de.
Heiko BecherInstitute of Global Health, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Klaus BergerInstitute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Patricia BohmannDepartment of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Hermann BrennerDivision of Clinical Epidemiology and Ageing Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Stefanie CastellDepartment for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Brunswick, Germany.
Nico DraganoInstitute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, University Hospital and Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Volker HarthInstitute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Stefanie JaskulskiInstitute for Prevention and Cancer Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
André KarchInstitute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Thomas KeilInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Lilian KristInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Berit LangeDepartment for Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Brunswick, Germany.
Michael LeitzmannDepartment of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Janka MassagInstitute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics, and Informatics, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Claudia Meinke-FranzeInstitute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Rafael MikolajczykInstitute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics, and Informatics, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Nadia ObiInstitute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Tobias PischonMolecular Epidemiology Research Group, Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Marvin ReuterJunior Professorship for Sociology, esp. Work and Health, Department of Sociology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany.
Börge SchmidtInstitute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Essen, Essen, Germany.
Ilais Moreno VelásquezMolecular Epidemiology Research Group, Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Henry VölzkeInstitute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Christian WiessnerInstitute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Olaf von dem Knesebeck *Institute of Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Daniel Lüdecke *Institute of Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe educational gradient in depressive symptoms is well documented. Gender and history of migration have also been found to be associated with depressive symptoms. Intersectional approaches enable the analysis of the interplay of different social factors at a time to gain a deeper understanding of inequalities in depressive symptoms. In this study, intersectional inequalities in depressive symptoms according to education, gender and history of migration are analysed.

methodsThe German National Cohort (NAKO, N = 204,783) collected information on depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), which was used as an outcome variable. Educational attainment (ISCED-97), gender, and history of migration constituted the different social strata in the analyses. The predicted probabilities of depressive symptoms for 30 social strata were calculated. Multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) was applied, using logistic regression and social strata were introduced as higher-level unit interaction terms.

resultsThe analyses revealed an educational gradient in depressive symptoms, with differences within each educational group when gender and history of migration were introduced to the models. The predicted probabilities of depressive symptoms varied between the most advantaged and the most disadvantaged social strata by more than 20% points. Among the three studied variables, education contributed the most to the variance explained by the MAIHDA models. The between-strata differences were largely explained by additive effects.

conclusionsWe observed a robust educational gradient in depressive symptoms, but gender and history of migration had substantial contribution on the magnitude of educational inequalities. An intersectional perspective on inequalities in depressive symptoms enhances current knowledge by showing that different social dimensions may intersect and contribute to inequalities in depressive symptoms. Future studies on inequalities in depression may greatly benefit from an intersectional approach, as it reflects lived inequalities in their diversity.

Indexed as

DepressionEducational StatusHealth Status DisparitiesAdultAgedCohort StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedSex FactorsSocioeconomic FactorsDepressionEducational inequalitiesGenderGerman national cohortHistory of migrationIntersectional analysisMAIHDANAKO

Identifiers

PMID40259268
PMCPMC12010676

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.