ArticlePLOS mental health2025
Determinants of gender disparities in psychological distress in the South African population aged 15 years and older: Findings from the 2017 National HIV prevalence, incidence, behaviour, and communication survey.
Article in PLOS mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of chronic non-communicable disease risk factors in the DIMAMO health and demographic surveillance system.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Psychological distress, characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and emotional suffering, is a major public health issue with well-documented gender disparities. This study examined the determinants of gender differences in psychological distress among South Africans aged 15 years and older using data from the 2017 South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour, and Communication Survey. The cross-sectional survey employed a multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling design. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler 10-item Psychological Distress Scale (K10), where a score of ≥20 indicated some level of distress. Of the 8,148 participants, the weighted prevalence of psychological distress was 19.3% (95% CI: 17.8-20.9), with a significantly higher prevalence among females (22.2%, 95% CI: 20.2-24.4) than males (16.4%, 95% CI: 14.4-18.6). Multivariable backward stepwise logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with psychological distress for each gender, and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Among males, higher odds of distress were associated with fair/poor self-rated health (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4) and excessive alcohol use (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.3). Protective factors included tertiary education (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9), residence in rural formal/farm areas (AOR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-1.0), and being HIV negative (AOR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.4-1.0). For females, distress was significantly associated with fair/poor self-rated health (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 2.0-3.4) and excessive alcohol use (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3-3.1). Lower odds were found among the employed (AOR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5-0.9), residents of rural informal/tribal (AOR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.5-0.8) and rural formal/farm areas (AOR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.9), and those with accurate HIV knowledge and myth rejection (AOR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.7). The findings emphasize the need for gender-specific mental health interventions targeting modifiable risk factors to reduce psychological distress in South Africa.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.