Pharmaceutical Side Effects and Mental Health Paradoxes among Racial-Ethnic Minorities.

ABSTRACT: Sociologists have long struggled to explain the minority mental health paradox: that racial-ethnic minorities often report better mental health than non-Hispanic whites despite social environments that seem less conducive to well-being. Using data from the 2008-2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), this study provides a partial explanation for the paradox rooted in a very different disparity. Evidence from MEPS indicates that non-Hispanic whites consume more pharmaceuticals than racial-ethnic minorities for a wide variety of medical conditions. Moreover, non-Hispanic whites consume more pharmaceuticals that although effective in treating their focal indication, include depression or suicide as a side effect. In models that adjust for the use of such medications, the minority advant

SUBMITTER: Schnittker J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8215684 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature