Does Stress-Related Poor Diet Quality Explain Socioeconomic Inequities in Health? A Structural Equation Mediation Analysis in Women and Men

摘要

Individuals with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP) have poorer health than their more advantaged counterparts. Psychosocial stress and diet quality have been shown to individually mediate associations between SEP and health, however studies have not yet investigated whether psychosocial stress and diet quality jointly mediate these associations. This is an important research question as stress-related unhealthy eating is often invoked as an explanation for diet-related health inequities, particularly among women, seemingly with no empirical justification. This study examined whether psychosocial stress and diet quality jointly mediate associations between SEP and self-rated health (SRH) in women and men.