Table 1.
Descriptive statistics by depression symptoms identified via the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) depression scale, 2014–2015.
| Variable | Depression symptoms | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0; None | 1–9; Mild | 9–14; Moderate | 15–24; Moderately severe/severe | Missing | |
| Total numbera, n (%b) | 2,976 (100) | 1,075 (100) | 454 (100) | 257 (100) | 170 (100) |
| UNGDc metric, n (%) | |||||
| Very low | 756 (25.4) | 259 (24.1) | 117 (25.8) | 62 (24.1) | 39 (22.9) |
| Low | 726 (24.4) | 285 (26.5) | 113 (24.9) | 66 (25.7) | 43 (25.3) |
| Medium | 776 (26.1) | 253 (23.5) | 101 (22.2) | 58 (22.6) | 45 (26.5) |
| High | 718 (24.1) | 278 (25.9) | 123 (27.1) | 71 (27.6) | 43 (25.3) |
| pd = 0.65 | |||||
| Race, n (%) | |||||
| White | 2766 (92.9) | 1005 (93.5) | 420 (92.5) | 228 (88.7) | 158 (92.9) |
| Black | 88 (3.0) | 33 (3.1) | 14 (3.1) | 8 (3.1) | 3 (1.8) |
| Hispanic | 122 (4.1) | 37 (3.4) | 20 (4.4) | 21 (8.2) | 9 (5.3) |
| p = 0.11 | |||||
| Female, n (%) | 1829 (61.5) | 721 (67.1) | 294 (64.8) | 191 (74.3) | 87 (51.2) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| Medical Assistance, n (%) | 138 (4.6) | 107 (10.0) | 80 (17.6) | 84 (32.7) | 12 (7.1) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| Smoking status, n (%) | |||||
| Never | 1774 (59.6) | 588 (54.7) | 233 (51.3) | 107 (41.6) | 83 (48.8) |
| Current | 278 (9.3) | 162 (15.1) | 81 (17.8) | 67 (26.1) | 18 (10.6) |
| Former | 924 (31.0) | 325 (30.2) | 140 (30.8) | 83 (32.3) | 69 (40.6) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| Community type, n (%) | |||||
| Borough | 799 (26.8) | 284 (26.4) | 131 (28.9) | 80 (31.1) | 46 (27.1) |
| City | 202 (6.8) | 99 (9.2) | 45 (9.9) | 34 (13.2) | 9 (5.3) |
| Township | 1975 (66.4) | 692 (64.4) | 278 (61.2) | 143 (55.6) | 115 (67.6) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| Well water, n (%) | 1129 (37.9) | 410 (38.1) | 147 (32.4) | 66 (25.7) | 75 (44.1) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| Alcohol status, n (%) | |||||
| No | 1256 (42.2) | 431 (40.1) | 183 (40.3) | 121 (47.1) | 82 (48.2) |
| Yes, not heavy | 1505 (50.6) | 524 (48.7) | 191 (42.1) | 92 (35.8) | 78 (45.9) |
| Yes, heavy | 215 (7.2) | 120 (11.2) | 80 (17.6) | 44 (17.1) | 10 (5.9) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| On depression medication, n (%) | 601 (20.2) | 396 (36.8) | 213 (46.9) | 138 (53.7) | 43 (25.3) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| Number of PHQ-8 questions missing, n (%) | |||||
| 0 | 2796 (94) | 977 (90.9) | 411 (90.5) | 235 (91.4) | 0 (0) |
| 1–7 | 180 (6) | 98 (9.1) | 43 (9.5) | 22 (8.6) | 0 (0) |
| All 8 | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 170 (100) |
| p < 0.01 | |||||
| BMI (kg/m2), mean | 29.6 | 30.5 | 31.5 | 32.1 | 29.4 |
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; PHQ-8 = Patient Health Questionnaire-8; UNGD = unconventional natural gas development.
aThe follow-up responders outside of Pennsylvania (n = 34) were excluded.
bColumn percent.
cThe UNGD metric was a composite for four phases of well development (pad preparation, drilling, stimulation, and production) and was assigned for the two weeks prior to survey return.
dp-values from chi-squared tests of each covariate with the different levels of depression symptoms (no, mild, moderate, moderately severe/severe depression symptoms; missing).