Depressive Symptoms and Sexually Transmitted Disease: Evidence from a Low-Income Neighborhood of New York City

We examined the association between sexually transmitted disease (STD) and depressive symptoms. Our analysis utilized the 2015 cross-sectional Washington Heights Community Survey. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the primary association between having a history of STD and patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score while adjusting for potential confounders. Then in separate models, we adjusted for the interaction of social factors with PHQ-9 score to test for modification effect on the primary association. In this low-income neighborhood, STD history was not significantly associated with PHQ-9 score in the overall logistic regression model for the primary association. However, in interaction models, STD and depressive symptoms were associated in sub-groups defined by social factors, namely being Hispanic [odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.15], foreign-born (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.02-1.15), and having low to moderate social support (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.02-1.15). Our results demonstrate a need for targeted interventions to be applied to vulnerable subgroups identified.