title: Exploration of depressive symptoms in African American cancer patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accurately assessing depression in African American cancer patients is difficult because of the similarities of physical symptoms observed in cancer and depression.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify universal and distinctive depressive symptoms in African American cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-four cancer patients (34 depressed and 23 non-depressed African Americans, and 17 depressed Whites) were interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to non-depressed African Americans, depressed African Americans reported irritability, social isolation, insomnia, fatigue and crying (p ≤ 0.05) more frequently over time. Compared to depressed Whites, they reported sadness, frustration and intrusive thoughts less frequently (p ≤ 0.05), but insomnia and fatigue more frequently (p ≤ 0.05) during cancer treatment. There was little racial difference at the time of interview.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depressed African American cancer patients may benefit from more culturally sensitive depression measures that consider symptoms of irritability, social isolation and altered expressions of depressive mood.
authors.affiliation: a Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and.
authors.forename: Amy Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: a Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and.
authors.forename: Faye
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gary
authors.affiliation: b School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University , Cleveland , OH , USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D012934:Social Isolation; D063189:Symptom Assessment
keywords: Cancer; depression; diagnosis; health disparity; race