title: Ethnic differences in the dynamics of depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined differences in the trajectory of depressive symptoms between Hispanic, Black, and White Americans in middle and old age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data came from a national sample of Americans with up to 6 repeated assessments spanning 11 years. Hierarchical linear models with time-varying covariates were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hispanics started with the worst depressive symptomatology, followed by Black Americans, whereas White Americans had the fewest symptoms. These differences, however, diminished over time. More importantly, net of socioeconomic and health differentials, the depressive symptoms trajectory did not differ between Blacks and Whites, whereas Hispanics still started with worse symptoms and had a greater rate of reduction in symptomatology compared to Whites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significant ethnic differences exist in both the intercept and rate of change in depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older Americans. These variations are substantially confounded by socioeconomic and health differentials.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. xiaox@med.umich.edu
authors.lastname: Xiao Xu
authors.forename: Jersey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Joan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Ana R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Quiñones
authors.lastname: Wen Ye
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology