Anxious depression among Puerto Rican and African-American older adults

Abstract

Objectives: To determine racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence and impact of anxious depression (i.e. major depressive disorder, MDD, occurring concomitant with generalized anxiety symptoms) among older adults.

Method: Interviews were conducted with 218 Puerto Rican and 206 African American older (age ≥60) urban senior housing residents. Data were collected on diagnostic status, depression severity and psychosocial functioning.

Results: Results indicated a higher prevalence of MDD and anxious depression among Puerto Rican participants. Anxious depression was associated with more severe ratings of distress and suicidality compared with MDD alone, and the impact of depression and anxiety was most pronounced for the Puerto Rican participants. Puerto Rican participants also reported poorer subjective health and more substantial disability; however, these effects were independent of depression or anxiety status.

Conclusions: Anxious depression is common among older ethnic minority adults and the impact of these symptoms differs by race/ethnicity. These results highlight the importance of conducting culturally sensitive assessments of depression and anxiety among older adults.

Keywords:

• depression
• generalized anxiety
• elderly
• urban
• ethnic minority

Acknowledgment

This research was funded by a grant from The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation. The project was a collaboration of the Institute for Community Research, Braceland Center for Mental Health and Aging, North Central Area Agency on Aging and the Hartford Housing Authority. The authors would like to express their appreciation to members of the research team including Jean Schensul, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Institute for Community Research, Kim Radda, R.N., M.A., Project Director and Co-Principal Investigator, Institute for Community Research, Carmen Reyes, M.S.M., Site Principal Investigator, North Central Area Agency on Aging, and other members of the collaborative research team including Karen Blank, Kenneth Brockman, Nuria Ciofalo, Kelly Desmarais, Leslie Escobales, Sonia Gaztambide, Michelle Garner, Eugene Hickey, Stephanie Kneip, Gustavo Lopez, Dawn McKinley and Jeanne Ota. We would also like to thank the Hartford Housing Authority, the residents in the 13 buildings involved in this study, and mental health service providers at Hartford Hospital, St Francis Hospital, Capital Region Mental Health Center, Charter Oak Rice Heights Health Center, the Institute for the Hispanic Family and Hartford Behavioral Health, who served on our Clinical Advisory Committee and accepted referrals for participants in this study.