Social network analysis of psychological morbidity in an urban slum of Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study based on a community census

OBJECTIVES: To test whether social ties play any roles in mitigating depression and anxiety, as well as in fostering mental health among young men living in a poor urban community. SETTING: A cohort of all young men living in an urban slum in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. PARTICIPANTS: All men aged 18-29 years (n=824) living in a low-income urban community at the time of the survey. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Unspecified psychological morbidity measured using the General Health Questionnaire, 12-item (GHQ-12), where lower scores suggest better mental status. RESULTS: The GHQ scores (mean=9.2, SD=4.9) suggest a significant psychological morbidity among the respondents. However, each additional friend is associated with a 0.063 SD lower GHQ score (95% CI -0.106…