Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Major Depressive Disorder.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common and disabling psychiatric disorders in the USA. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are extremely important to prevent disability and improve quality of life. Recent studies have demonstrated racial and ethnic disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of MDD. African Americans (AA), Hispanics, and Asian Americans were significantly less likely to receive a depression diagnosis from a health-care provider than were non-Hispanic whites. The underdiagnosis of MDD in minority groups may be due to differences in socioeconomic status (SES), care affordability, cultural beliefs about depression, help-seeking patterns, access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care, patient-physician relationship, clinical presentation of depression, etc. Meanwhile, the likelihood of both having access to and receiving adequate care for depression was significantly low for AA, Hispanics, and Asian Americans, in contrast to whites. Similar disparities also exist in treatment outcomes. Besides the reasons for MDD underdiagnosis, additional contributing factors include access barriers to preferred mode of treatment, cultural concerns about antidepressants and different metabolism of antidepressants, etc. There are many ways to address these disparities and improve MDD care in minority populations, including universal depression screening, public financial incentives to ensure access to care in low-income and minority neighborhoods, quality improvement programs, cultural competency of mental health professionals, collaborative care management, community engagement and planning, and enhanced participation of minorities in clinical research.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr D. B. Todd Jr Blvd, Nashville, TN, 37208, USA. shaoz@ccf.org.|Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA. shaoz@ccf.org.
Zhili
Z
Shao
Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr D. B. Todd Jr Blvd, Nashville, TN, 37208, USA.
William D
WD
Richie
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, 791 Jonestown Road, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103, USA.
Rahn Kennedy
RK
Bailey
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001213:Asian; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D044469:Racial Groups; D014481:United States; D044465:White People
African Americans; Asian Americans; Hispanics; Major depressive disorder; Non-Hispanic whites; Racial and ethnic disparity