Income as a risk factor for gambling disorder

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Author(s): Girard, Lisa-Christine ; Leino, Tony ; Griffiths, Mark D. ; Pallesen, Ståle

Journal: SSM - Population Health

Year Published: 2023

Date Added: December 21, 2023

Gambling disorder (GD) is more prevalent in the context of poverty. This suggests that income might be a risk factor for GD. The goal of this study is to look at whether income is a risk factor for GD. It also looks at the predicted income trajectories for GD patients between 2008 and 2018. The researchers compared patients with GD to patients with other mental or physical disorders and the general population. Patients with GD were more likely to have lower income levels in 2008 compared to the general population. The predicted income for patients with GD was below the national average between 2008 and 2018. The researchers identified seven distinct groups of patients with GD based on their predicted income trajectories.

Citation: Girard, L. C., Leino, T., Griffiths, M. D., & Pallesen, S. (2023). Income and gambling disorder: A longitudinal matched case-control study with registry data from Norway. SSM – Population Health, 24, 101504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101504

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101504

Keywords: gambling disorder ; income ; poverty

Topics: Socioeconomic Status

Conceptual Framework Factors: Environment - Social and Economic Impacts ; Social - Social Demographics ; Gambling Environment

Study Design: Observational: Case Control

Geographic Coverage: Norway

Study Population: The researchers included all patients in the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) with a diagnosis of GD between 2008 and 2018 (n = 5,131; men = 81.8%). A randomly sampled control group from the NPR was matched on age and sex with a registered diagnosis of any psychiatric and somatic disorder other than GD (n = 30,476; men = 81.6%). A third randomly sampled control group from the Statistics of Norway (SSB) was also chosen. This group was also matched to the sample of patients with GD from the NPR on age and sex (n = 30,164; men = 81.4%).

Sampling Procedure: Participants with GD were drawn from the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) between 2008 and 2018. Participants with a registered diagnosis of any psychiatric and somatic disorder other than GD were randomly sampled from the NRP and matched to the participants with GD on age and sex. A randomly sampled control group was drawn from the Statistics of Norway (SSB) and matched to participant with GD on age and sex.

Study Funding:

This study was funded by the Research Council of Norway.