title: Patterns of risk for anxiety-depression amongst Vietnamese-immigrants: a comparison with source and host populations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies suggest that immigrants have higher rates of anxiety-depression than compatriots in low-middle income countries and lower rates than populations in host high income countries. Elucidating the factors that underlie these stepwise variations in prevalence may throw new light on the pathogenesis of anxiety-depressive disorders globally. This study aimed to examine whether quantitative differences in exposure to, or the interaction between, risk factors account for these anxiety-depression prevalence differences amongst immigrant relative to source and host country populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multistage population mental health surveys were conducted in three groups: 1) a Vietnamese-immigrant sample settled in Australia (n = 1161); 2) a Vietnamese source country sample residing in the Mekong Delta region (n = 3039); 3) an Australian-born host country sample (n = 7964). Multivariable logistic regression analyses compared risk factors between the Vietnamese-immigrant group and: 1) the Mekong Delta Vietnamese; and 2) the Australian-born group. Twelve month anxiety-depression diagnoses were the main outcome measures, derived from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), supplemented by an indigenously derived measure - the Phan Vietnamese Psychiatric Scale (PVPS) in both Vietnamese groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 12-month prevalence of anxiety-depression showed a stepwise increase across groups: Mekong Delta Vietnamese 4.8%; Vietnamese-immigrants 7.0%; Australian-born 10.2%. The two Vietnamese populations showed a similar risk profile with older age, exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), multiple physical illnesses and substance use disorder (SUD) being associated with anxiety-depression, with the older Vietnamese-immigrants reporting greater exposure to these factors. The interaction between key risk factors differed fundamentally when comparing Vietnamese-immigrant and Australian-born samples. Age emerged as the major discriminator, with young Vietnamese-immigrants exhibiting particularly low rates of anxiety-depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings reported here suggest that core risk factors for anxiety-depression may be universal, but their patterning and interaction may differ according to country-of-origin. The study also highlights the importance of including both standard international and culturally-specific measures to index cross-cultural manifestations of common mental disorders.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Research and Teaching Unit (PRTU), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. b.liddell@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Belinda J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Liddell
authors.forename: Tien
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chey
authors.forename: Derrick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Silove
authors.forename: Thuy Thi Bich
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.forename: Nguyen Mong
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Giao
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Steel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult