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Among
Elderly, Depression More Prevalent in Hispanics and Blacks Yahoonews.com Elderly Hispanics and African Americans have higher
rates of depression than their white counterparts, due largely to greater
health burdens and lack of health insurance, a The study, published in the November online issue of the American
Journal of Public Health, showed that major depression was most prevalent
among Hispanics -- 10.8 percent -- followed by almost 9 percent in African
Americans and approximately 8 percent in whites in this age group. The odds of depressive disorders among older Hispanics were 44 percent
greater than among whites, representing a significantly greater prevalence
of major depression, said lead author Dorothy D. Dunlop, research
associate professor at the Institute for Health Services Research and
Policy Studies at the Feinberg School of Medicine at The study, which evaluated almost 7,700 adults aged 54 to 65 for
racial/ethnic differences in rates of major depression and examined
possible mediators, also found that younger age, female gender, being
widowed or divorced, living alone and providing care for a parent each
significantly increased the odds of depression. The strong association of caregiving with major depression is
comparable to the well-known risk of depression resulting from the loss of
a spouse through death or divorce, Dunlop said. "This finding points to the potential importance of providing
social support for caregivers to reduce the burden associated with this
complex role," she said. All health needs, including chronic diseases, such as arthritis,
diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, as well as functional
limitations and health behaviors, were significantly associated with major
depression. Physical limitations were the factor most strongly associated with
major depression, more than doubling the odds of depression after other
factors had been taken into account, the authors said. The strong
association between depression and functional limitation is particularly
notable, they said, since such limitations are consequences of disease
processes. Other characteristics that significantly increased the odds of major
depression included potentially life-threatening illnesses such as cancer,
heart or lung disease and stroke, limitations in activities of daily
living, lack of regular exercise and tobacco use. Having fewer economic resources -- less education, income or wealth;
lack of private health insurance coverage or employment - was associated
with a greater frequency of depression. Reliance on government health
insurance somewhat increased the odds of depression, the authors said. "Our finding that lack of health insurance coverage is strongly
associated with frequency of major depression particularly implicates the
need for health insurance carriers to facilitate better access to medical
care among ethnic minority groups," Dunlop and colleagues said. "Given the clear association between frequency of major depression and greater health burden and fewer economic resources, factors common to older ethnic minority individuals, more effective treatment, public health or public policy programs that increase access to mental health care and general medical care may lead to long-term reductions in racial/ethnic disparities in depression," Dunlop and co-researchers said. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
