title: Mental health service use by persons of Asian ancestry with DSM-IV mental disorders in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared the prevalence and odds of mental health service utilization among people of Asian ancestry with lifetime DSM-IV mood, anxiety, alcohol, and drug use disorders with utilization by members of other racial and ethnic groups with similar disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2001 and 2002, a total of 43,093 noninstitutionalized individuals were assessed by the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) study of lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders and mental health service utilization among various ethnic and racial groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among individuals with lifetime mood disorders, Asians had significantly lower mental health service utilization compared with whites (odds ratio [OR]=.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.21-.46), Hispanics (OR=.49, CI=.33-71), and Native Americans (OR=.27, CI=.15-.48) but similar utilization compared with blacks. There were no statistically significant differences in lifetime mental health service utilization for alcohol and drug use disorders among racial and ethnic groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asians with lifetime mood disorders underutilized mental health services even after adjustment was made for socioeconomic variables and years of residency in the United States. Future studies of culture-specific attitudes, correlates, and barriers to mental health service utilization are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. sulee@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Su Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Silvia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Keyes
authors.forename: Hochang B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult