This cohort study was conducted with the aim to determine if community-level social infrastructure is linked with decreased incidence of major depressive disorder (MDD) among adults in high-risk settings.

• In a cohort of young adults, correlations were examined between a neighborhood-level program in a case-control design and subsequent individual outcomes across 10 years (2006-2015).

• Data from a total of 1,917 adults in 149 high-poverty neighborhoods that have recently experienced armed conflict, were studied.

• Living in neighborhoods with available social programs was noted to be correlated with subsequent decreased incidence of MDD.

• Overall findings suggest that in settings of high exposure to potentially traumatic experiences, there may be a reduction in the incidence of adult-onset MDD in presence of local social support infrastructure, hence researchers emphasize prioritization of such infrastructure for population-level interventions.