According to a study out of Rutgers University, significant differences exist in the diagnosis and treatment of depression in older patients, with the differences being divided along racial and ethnic lines.
In particular, the researchers found that African Americans were less likely to be diagnosed with depression than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. And, when they were diagnosed, they were less likely to receive treatment.
Lead author Ayse Akincigil, an assistant professor in Rutgers' School of Social Work, and her team gathered data for the study from the U.S. Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2001-2005, looking at 33,708 Medicare beneficiaries. When they examined rates of depression diagnosis, they found that 7.2% of Hispanics, 6.4% of non-Hispanic whites, 4.2% of African Americans and 3.8% of all others had received a depression diagnosis.
Hispanics and African Americans, however, were less likely to receive treatment for their depression.
Akincigil suggests that these differences may arise because of cultural differences in how various racial or ethnic groups seek help. For example, she says that African Americans may be more likely to turn to a pastor or lay counselor for support. They may also feel more stigma or shame associated with depression or turn to more dysfunctional means of coping with the illness due to income restraints.
Akincigil also notes that whites tend to have higher incomes and live in neighborhoods where mental health professionals are more likely to be located, possibly making it easier for them to access professional care.
Due to the diverse makeup of the Hispanic community, it is more difficult to draw conclusions about why they might be undertreated.
The study authors suggest that ethnic minorities could be better served if universal depression screening and access to treatment for low-income and minority neighborhoods was ensured. Increased reimbursement of case management services for depression treatment might also be helpful, they add.
The study appears online ahead of print on the American Journal of Public Health website. It will appear in print February 2012.
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