Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling 
elderly African-American and White older adults

Blazer, Dan G.; Landerman, Lawrence R.; Hays, Judith C.; Simonsick, Eleanor M.; Saunders, W. Bruce

doi:10.1017/s0033291798007648

Cited by 188 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…African Americans had similar rates of depressive symptoms compared with whites, a finding that is consistent with other studies in the general population (13,23) and among people with diabetes (15,22). In a recent study among men with type 2 diabetes by Fisher et al (24), white and AfricanAmerican men had lower depressive symptoms than Hispanic-and ChineseAmerican men, but these differences were not statistically significant after adjusting for income and education.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among Rural Older African Americans, Native Americans, and Whites With Diabetes

et al. 2005

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OBJECTIVE -Depression is associated with morbidity, mortality, and decreased quality of life and is a well-established complication among people with diabetes. Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among older adults living in rural communities, particularly among ethnic minority groups, who are at increased risk of developing diabetes and complications.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Data were analyzed from the ELDER (Evaluating Long-term Diabetes Self-management Among Elder Rural Adults) diabetes study in which face-to-face interviews were conducted with 696 older (Ն65 years of age) African-American, Native American, and white men and women in two rural counties in central North Carolina.RESULTS -Using a criterion of Ն9 on a modified CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Study of Depression) scale, 15.8% of the sample had depressive symptoms. In bivariate analyses, depressive symptomatology was more common among women and individuals who were unmarried and had less than a high school education, fewer financial resources, more chronic conditions, more prescription medications, and lower physical functioning. In multivariate analyses, sex, education, living arrangement, BMI, number of prescription medications, number of chronic conditions, and physical functioning remained significant.CONCLUSIONS -These results show that older rural adults with diabetes are at high risk for depressive symptoms, regardless of their ethnic group, and that certain demographic and health characteristics are important factors in this association. These findings add to the limited body of knowledge of comorbid depression in this population. Greater attention should be paid to diagnosing and treating this condition by those who provide care to these populations. Diabetes Care 28:823-829, 2005D epression is a common comorbidity among people with diabetes. In a recent meta-analysis, the prevalence of depression among people with diabetes was about twice as high as that among those without diabetes (1). Depression among people with diabetes reduces quality of life and is associated with morbidity, mortality, and health care costs (2-4).While there is a substantial body of research on comorbid depression among individuals with diabetes, significant gaps exist in the literature. First, little is known about this association among the rural elderly. This population constitutes Ͼ25% of the total U.S. elderly population and has limited access to health care, particularly specialty health care (5), mental health services, and other resources necessary for appropriate chronic disease management (6 -8). Second, there is limited information on comorbid depression among ethnic minorities with diabetes, particularly African Americans (9) and Native Americans. Diabetes is more common among ethnic minorities (10), so the public health impact of depression in this population may be substantial.The current study has two major aims: to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms among a sample of older African Americans, Nati...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among Rural Older African Americans, Native Americans, and Whites With Diabetes

et al. 2005

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“…Similarly, the association between female sex and PTSD has also been reported in a community sample [24]. African-American race was reported to be a risk factor for psychological distress related to cancer [21], chronic pain-related depression [20]and psychosis associated with PTSD [25], but mixed results were reported for depressive symptoms [26, 27]. However, due to the scarcity of evidence on the risk of the wide range of mental disorders by age, sex, and race/ethnicity, the question whether there are sex and racial/ethnic differences regarding the type and frequency of different mental disorders in community-dwelling cancer patients is largely ignored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Cancer and Mental Disorders in a National Community Sample: Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey

Honda

Goodwin

2004

Psychother Psychosom

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Objective: To determine the association between cancer (past 12 months) and mental disorders (past 12 months) among community-dwelling adults. Methods: Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey (n = 5,877), a representative household sample of adults aged 15–54 years in the United States. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between cancer and mental disorders, adjusting for differences in sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Cancer was significantly associated with increased rates of major depression [odds ratio (OR) = 3.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4–8.8], drug dependence (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.3–9.8), simple phobia (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.0–6.2) and agoraphobia (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.0–10.4). These associations persisted after adjusting for major sociodemographic factors, and sex plays a significant role in the association between cancer diagnosis and mental disorder, with cancer diagnosis having a stronger influence on major depression and drug dependence in men than in women. Conclusions: Clinicians and community health workers working with cancer survivors need to be not only alert for signs of clinical depression but also of co-occurring drug dependence and certain anxiety disorders so that appropriate referrals to mental health professionals can be made.

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“…Although at least that 10% of adults in the United States meet DSM-IV criteria for major depression, this prevalence differs by race, gender, and age [4]. Although several studies have shown that MDD may have a lower prevalence among African Americans than Whites in the U.S. [5][6][7], other reports suggest that African Americans may experience higher severity of depressive symptoms than Whites [8]. Depression tends to be more chronic, severe, and disabling for African Americans [7,9].…”

Section: Depression and African Americansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences in Longitudinal Links between Neighborhood Fear, Parental Support, and Depression among African American Emerging Adults

et al. 2015

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Abstract:The transition to adulthood is a developmental period marked by increased stress, especially among African Americans. In addition to stress related to emerging adulthood, neighborhood fear may contribute to depressive symptoms for African Americans. We examined gender differences in longitudinal associations between changes in perceived neighborhood fear, parental support, and depressive symptoms among African American youth who were in transition to adulthood. Five hundred and thirteen African American youths (235 males and 278 females) were included in the study. An increase in perceived neighborhood fear was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms, and change in perceived maternal support was predictive of depressive symptoms among males, but not females. The findings suggest that policies and programs should help OPEN ACCESSSocieties 2015, 5 152 parents provide support to young adult children who live in violent neighborhoods as a strategy to prevent depressive symptoms during emerging adulthood.

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Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and White older adults

Abstract: This study confirms earlier findings of minimal overall differences in symptom frequency between African-American and non-African-American community-dwelling older adults in controlled studies.

Cited by 188 publications

References 21 publications

Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among Rural Older African Americans, Native Americans, and Whites With Diabetes

Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among Rural Older African Americans, Native Americans, and Whites With Diabetes

Cancer and Mental Disorders in a National Community Sample: Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey

Gender Differences in Longitudinal Links between Neighborhood Fear, Parental Support, and Depression among African American Emerging Adults

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