title: Depressive symptoms in a sample of Afro-Caribbean and Latino immigrant cancer patients: a comparative analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to describe the depressive symptoms in a sample of African-Caribbean and Latino cancer patients and examine differences in specific symptoms between the two groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included immigrant Afro-Caribbean (n = 44) and Latino (n = 145) underserved cancer patients recruited from five hospitals in New York City. Participants completed a questionnaire comprised of measures of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), health-related quality of life (EuroQol 5D), sociodemographic, and health-related questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results of the comparison of mean scores and percentage of patients meeting the cutoff scores showed that Afro-Caribbean patients reported comparable depressive symptoms to the Latino patients. But, upon closer inspection of specific symptoms and other self-report variables, Latino patients reported more frequently depressed mood, having a history of a depressive disorder, and overall higher psychological distress than Afro-Caribbean patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Different presentation of symptoms associated with depression is expressed by Afro-Caribbean and Latino cancer patients. Studies analyzing in detail the presentation of psychological responses of different cultural groups with chronic medical conditions are greatly needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, USA. costasmr@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costas
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gany
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000208:ethnology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D001741:Black or African American