title: Panic disorder among African Americans, Caribbean blacks and non-Hispanic whites.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study investigated co-morbidities, level of disability, service utilization and demographic correlates of panic disorder (PD) among African Americans, Caribbean blacks and non-Hispanic white Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) and the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Non-Hispanic whites are the most likely to develop PD across the lifespan compared to the black subgroups. Caribbean blacks were found to experience higher levels of functional impairment. There were no gender differences found in prevalence of PD in Caribbean blacks, indicating that existing knowledge about who is at risk for developing PD (generally more prevalent in women) may not be true among this subpopulation. Furthermore, Caribbean blacks with PD were least likely to use mental health services compared to African Americans and non-Hispanic whites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that PD may affect black ethnic subgroups differently, which has important implications for understanding the nature and etiology of the disorder.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; 500 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. djsieg@umich.edu
authors.forename: Debra Siegel
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Himle
authors.forename: Robert Joseph
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Jamie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Abelson
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matusko
authors.forename: Jordana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muroff
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000208:ethnology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American