SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2026
Gender differences in the effects of economic inequality on mental conditions: a multivariate meta-analysis of Gini index and relative income position in high-income OECD countries.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Economic inequalities are established determinants of mental conditions, yet the role of gender remains insufficiently examined. In this article, we suggest that women experience a "double risk" in contexts of economic inequality: higher exposure to economic disadvantage and greater vulnerability to its mental health effects. Methods: We conducted a two-step synthesis. First, we analyzed sex differences in relative poverty across high-income OECD countries. Mean differences were assessed using Welch t-tests, with sensitivity analyses across COVID-19 periods. Second, we performed a systematic review and multivariate random-effects meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines. We included 21 studies reporting gender-disaggregated associations between income rank and income inequality and ICD-/DSM-based mental conditions. Effect sizes were transformed to log odds ratios and analyzed using multilevel models accounting for within-study dependencies. Gender was examined as a moderator. Results: Women exhibited higher relative poverty rates than men (20.5% vs. 18.3%; mean difference: 2.2 percentage points; p < 0.001). The meta-analysis (46 effect sizes) showed a significant association between lower income and poorer mental health (log(OR)=0.55, 95% CI 0.26-0.85), with substantial heterogeneity. Gender did not moderate effects across all outcomes. However, in depression-specific analyses (k=17), gender significantly moderated the association (p=0.016), with stronger effects in women. Income inequality (Gini index) showed no overall association with mental health, but gender still emerged as a significant moderator, with effects concentrated among women in adjusted models. Conclusions: Gender shapes both exposure to economic disadvantage and vulnerability to its mental health consequences. While income-related mental health inequalities affect both sexes, women appear disproportionately impacted, particularly regarding depression. These findings highlight the importance of integrating gender-sensitive approaches into research and policy addressing socioeconomic determinants of mental health. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251123692, identifier CRD420251123692.
Indexed as
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.