Racial differences in depression in the United States: how do subgroup analyses inform a paradox?

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Non-Hispanic Blacks in the US have lower rates of major depression than non-Hispanic Whites, in national household samples. This has been termed a "paradox," as Blacks suffer greater exposure to social stressors, a risk factor for depression. Subgroup analyses can inform hypotheses to explain this paradox. For example, it has been suggested that selection bias in household samples undercounts depression in Blacks; if selection is driving the paradox, Black-White differences should be most pronounced among young men with low education.

Methods

We examined Black-White differences in lifetime major depression in subgroups defined simultaneously by sex, age, and education using data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and the

SUBMITTER: Barnes DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3834079 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature