TABLE 5.

Associations between items of social connectedness and subsequent mental health (Well-Being Survey 2018–2019 and health insurance claims data 2017–2019, United States) ^a .

Item of social connectedness	Depression	Anxiety
	RR 95% CI	RR 95% CI
My relationships are as satisfying as I would want them to be	0.833** (0.727, 0.954)	0.886 (0.778, 1.008)
There are people who really understand me	0.828** (0.736, 0.931)	0.880* (0.775, 0.999)
How often do you feel lonely?	1.315*** (1.164, 1.486)	1.210** (1.078, 1.359)
I am content with my friendships and relationships	0.794** (0.698, 0.904)	0.847* (0.746, 0.962)
I have enough people I feel comfortable asking for help at any time	0.818*** (0.731, 0.916)	0.840** (0.743, 0.950)
I feel connected to the broader community around me	0.809** (0.711, 0.919)	0.933 (0.818, 1.065)
People in my broader community trust and respect one another	0.773*** (0.676, 0.884)	0.904 (0.777, 1.051)

^aEach analysis was controlled for demographics [gender (ref. = female), age (ref. = below 30), race (ref. = White), education (ref. = high school), marital status (ref. = not married)), having children at home (ref. = no), taking care of an elderly (ref. = no)], wealth and income [home ownership (ref. = no) and salary], lifestyle [voting in the last elections (ref. = no/not registered voter) and spiritual practices (ref. = at least once/week)] and work characteristics (number of work hours (ref. = ≤8 h), supervisor support, job control, job demand and job meaning). These variables were controlled for in the baseline wave, T = 0 (in the same wave as the exposure), since only two waves of survey data were available. Additionally, in each regression an outcome prior to exposure (T = −1) as well as the number of diagnosed health conditions (ranging from 0 to 37 diagnosed health conditions) prior to exposure (T = −1) were used as controls.

***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05; CI is confidence interval.

CI, confidence interval; RR, risk ratio.