Clinically Relevant Levels of Depressive Symptoms in Community‐Dwelling Middle‐Aged African Americans

Miller, Douglas K.; Malmstrom, Theodore K.; Joshi, Seema Raghavendra; Andresen, Elena M.; Morley, John E.; Wolinsky, Fredric D.

doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52211.x

Cited by 102 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

118

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Non-linear associations were observed between BMI-decile and mental ill-health conditions in men and women living in South Australia. In contrast to some published research [20,28,37], greater odds of mental ill-health problems were observed only in the obese and not in the lowest BMI-decile after controlling for age, health-adverse behaviours and SES. Elevated odds were apparent for middle-aged persons, whereas younger and older individuals had a significantly lower odds of having a mental ill-health condition.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…However, for women only the obese had a significantly greater prevalence of depressive symptoms after accounting for demographic factors and health-adverse/coping behaviours. Research on elderly persons with depression found that those underweight or obese were more likely to be depressed than those of normal weight or overweight [28]. Further, a population-based survey in Canada of residents aged 18-64 years did not find an elevated risk for anxiety or depression in underweight women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mental ill-health across the continuum of body mass index

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundSeveral studies have found a non-linear relationship between mental ill-health and BMI with higher rates in both the underweight and the obese. This study evaluated the shape of the relationship between BMI and distress, suicidal ideation and self-reported mental ill-health conditions in a large population sample.MethodsData were drawn from the South Australian Monitoring and Surveillance System (SAMSS) for the years 2002 to 2009 (n = 46,704). SAMSS monitors population trends in state and national risk factors and chronic diseases. Samples are drawn from all households with a functioning number in the Australian White Pages. Computer assisted telephone interviews collected information on self-reported height and weight, demographic and health behaviours. Respondents completed the Kessler Distress and suicidal ideation scales and reported specific mental ill-health conditions. BMI was categorized into deciles to allow for assessment of the shape of any associations with other variables. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between each mental ill-health condition and BMI-decile controlling for age in the base model. This was followed by a full model that added SES and the health-adverse coping behaviours of smoking, alcohol and physical activity to test for changes from the base model.ResultsNon-linear associations were observed between BMI-decile and mental ill-health but statistically significantly greater odds of mental ill-health were observed only in the obese and not in the underweight after controlling for age, health-adverse behaviours and socioeconomic status. The association between BMI and mental ill-health might best be described as 'threshold'. Elevated odds were apparent for middle-aged persons, whereas younger and older individuals had a significantly lower odds of having a mental ill-health condition.ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study has provided no support for the hypothesis of increased mental ill-health problems in the underweight but it has demonstrated the non-linear relationships between BMI and mental ill-health and between BMI and health-adverse behaviours. Non-linear relationships with BMI need to be recognized and addressed during analysis.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental ill-health across the continuum of body mass index

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Second, empirical studies indicate that depressive symptoms are more frequent in midlife than in late life (see Blazer, 2003, for a review of this literature). However, studies of depressive symptoms among middle-aged African Americans are sparse (Miller et al, 2004). The focus on African Americans aged 50 and older in this study provides an opportunity to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms in a group that spans middle and older age and to establish data that is comparable to information on the general population.…”

Section: Methods Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial Strain, Negative Interactions, and Mastery: Pathways to Mental Health Among Older African Americans

Lincoln

2007

Journal of Black Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study examines the impact of financial strain, social support, and negative interactions on depressive symptoms among African Americans and the role of mastery as a mediator in these relationships. Structural equation modeling and baseline data from the Americans' Changing Lives Study were used to test these relationships among a sample of African Americans aged 50 to 96 years (N = 583). Findings illustrate the mechanistic pathways whereby financial strain is associated with depressive symptoms. Moreover, the study findings give further credence to the notion that positive and negative aspects of social relationships are distinctive with respect to social status factors, financial strain, and their relationship to depressive symptoms. This research suggests that mastery is an important mechanism linking negative interaction to mental health. The collection of findings provide a number of provocative departures from research conducted primarily using White samples and identifies important areas of intervention with older African Americans.Keywords negative interactions; social support; mastery; mental health Although a growing body of research has documented how negative social interactions (e.g., conflict, demands, and broken promises) and social support affect mental health status, there are two issues that deserve increased attention. First, this body of literature has offered much less by way of explanatory mechanisms. Specifically, missing from past empirical studies on negative interactions are the mechanisms that shape the conditions under which social support and negative interactions impact mental health. A second issue that deserves more attention involves the role of negative interactions among ethnically and racially diverse populations. For example, we know little about how negative interactions affect the health and well-being of older African Americans. The lack of studies on this topic among African Americans and other racial minority groups fosters an assumption that social theories and models are conceptually and functionally equivalent across diverse groups. Consequently, much of the work on this topic may not be generalizable to other racial or ethnic groups.Despite the valuable and informative work that has been done in this area to date, there is added value in examining the heterogeneity within the older African American population.

show abstract

“…Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD). A score of 9 or more was used as an indicator of a clinically relevant level of depressive symptoms; a score of 9 on the abbreviated scale is equivalent to the standard criterion of 16 or more on the original 20-item version [6,13]. The prevalence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms in this study was 25% (N=61/244).…”

Section: Physical Examination Interview and Questionnairesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sampling and data collection procedures have been previously described in detail [6,7]. Briefly, data for this study are from the African-American Health (AAH) project, a populationbased longitudinal study of 998 men and women aged 49 -65 initiated to examine key issues of disability and frailty among African-Americans.…”

Section: Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%