Table 2.
Characteristics of respondents with prescription medication use in past year for depressive symptoms by ethnicity and place of origin
| Variable % (95% CI) | Non-Latinx White | Latinx | P value | Puerto Rico | Mexico | Other Latinx countries | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Respondents (total weighted N = 13,215,000) | |||||||
| Weighted n | 12,108,000 | 1,107,000 | NA | 223,000 | 527,000 | 357,000 | NA |
| Weighted % | 40.6 (39.8–41.4) | 28.4 (26.1–30.9) | < 0.0001 | 34.9 (29.2–41.2) | 25.1 (22.3–28.2) | 30.7 (26.2–35.7) | < 0.0080a |
| Sex | |||||||
| Male | 29 (27.8–30.3) | 30.8 (26.2–35) | > 0.05 | 31.4 (22.5–42) | 33 (26.6–40.1) | 27.2 (19.7–36.4) | > 0.05 |
| Female | 71 (69.7–72.2) | 69.2 (64.2–73.8) | > 0.05 | 68.6 (58–77.5) | 67 (59.9–73.4) | 72.8 (63.6–80.3) | > 0.05 |
| Age | |||||||
| 18–25 | 12.5 (11.9–13.1) | 17.7 (15.2–20.5) | < 0.0001 | 13.3 (9.5–18.2) | 22.4 (18.3–27) | 13.5 (10–18.1) | < 0.0001a,b |
| 26–49 | 43.3 (42–44.6) | 50.3 (45.6–54.9) | < 0.0001 | 47.7 (37.4–58.1) | 53.8 (47.4–60) | 46.7 (37.6–56) | < 0.0001 |
| 50 or older | 44.2 (42.8–45.7) | 32 (26.9–37.7) | < 0.0001 | 39 (28.1–51.1) | 23.9 (17.5–31.7) | 39.8 (29.9–50.6) | > 0.05 |
| Environment-societal structure—geographic location, education level, linguistic proficiency | |||||||
| Large metropolitan | 48 (46.5–49.5) | 62.5 (57.2–67.6) | < 0.05 | 64.8 (53.8–74.5) | 56.3 (49.3–63) | 70.3 (59.9–79) | > 0.05 |
| Small metropolitan | 34.1 (32.8–35.5) | 29.9 (25–35.2) | > 0.05 | 29.9 (20.7–41) | 33.2 (26.9–40.1) | 24.9 (16.6–35.6) | > 0.05 |
| Non-metropolitan | 17.9 (16.8–19) | 7.6 (5.6–10.3) | < 0.05 | 5.3 (2–13.4) | 10.5 (7.4–14.7) | 4.8 (2.1–10.3) | > 0.05 |
| Education level | |||||||
| Less than high school graduate | 7.9 (7.10–8.7) | 16.6 (12.9–21.3) | < 0.0001 | 25.5 (16.6–37) | 16.2 (10.8–23.5) | 11.8 (6.7–20) | > 0.05 |
| High school graduate | 20.3 (19.2–21.4) | 21.4 (17.3–26.1) | < 0.0001 | 19 (12.1–28.4) | 22.9 (17.9–28.9) | 20.6 (12.6–31.8) | > 0.05 |
| Some college | 37.8 (35.1–37.2) | 36.1 (35.2–40.4) | < 0.0001 | 31.7 (23–41.9) | 42.2 (36–48.7) | 39.7 (31.1–49.1) | > 0.05 |
| College degree | 34.1 (32.7–35.5) | 22.7 (19–26.8) | < 0.0001 | 23.8 (16.5–33.1) | 18.7 (14.1–24.4) | 27.9 (20.5–36.6) | > 0.05 |
| Survey language Spanish | d | d | NA | 11.0 (5.6–20.5) | 9.6 (5–17.5) | 16.4 (10.4–25.1) | < 0.05 |
| How well speaks English | |||||||
| Very well | 95.3 (94.9–95.7) | 80.4 (77.1–83.3) | < 0.0001 | 77.2 (68.5–84.1) | 84.8 (80.8–88.1) | 75.9 (68.9–81.8) | 0.029 |
| Well to not at all | 4.7 (4.3–5.1) | 19.6 (16.7–22.9) | < 0.0001 | 22.8 (15.9–31.5) | 15.2 (11.9–19.2) | 24.1 (18.2–31.1) | 0.029 |
| Environment-societal structure—Occupational stress, Economic stability, Financial stress, Health insurance | |||||||
| Depressive symptoms impairment of ability to work | |||||||
| None to mild | 25.5 (24–27) | 23.3 (18–29.7) | > 0.05 | 20.6 (12.7–31.7) | 23.2 (17.2–30.7) | 25.2 (13.9–41.2) | > 0.05 |
| Moderate to very severe | 74.5 (73–76) | 76.7 (70.3–82) | > 0.05 | 79.4 (68.3–87.3) | 76.8 (69.3–82.8) | 74.8 (58.8–86.1) | > 0.05 |
| Employment status | |||||||
| Employed full time | 37.9 (36.6–39.3) | 36.7 (32.2–41.4) | > 0.05 | 31.5 (22.7–41.7) | 41.2 (35.1–47.7) | 33.2 (25.2–42.3) | > 0.05 |
| Employed part time | 16.2 (12.1–18.4) | 15 (15.2–17.1) | > 0.05 | 12.8 (7.8–20.2) | 17.5 (12.9–23.3) | 12.6 (8.7–17.8) | > 0.05 |
| Unemployed | 4.3 (3.8–4.8) | 7.3 (5.4–9.8) | < 0.05 | 5 (2.7–9.1) | 7.3 (4.6–11.3) | 8.6 (5.2–13.8) | > 0.05 |
| Other (not in work force) | 41.6 (40.2–43) | 41.1 (36.1–46.3) | > 0.05 | 50.8 (40.6–60.8) | 33.9 (27.7–40.7) | 45.6 (35.6–56) | > 0.05 |
| Income status | |||||||
| Living in poverty | 17.3 (16.3–18.4) | 25.2 (21–29.8) | 0.001 | 36.1 (26.6–46.8) | 25.6 (19.8–32.4) | 17.6 (12–25.1) | 0.001c |
| Income up to twice FPT | 20.2 (19.2–21.3) | 22.5 (18.8–26.6) | 0.001 | 23 (15.5–32.8) | 23 (18–28.9) | 21.3 (14.7–29.9) | > 0.05 |
| Income more than twice FPT | 62.5 (61.2–63.8) | 52.4 (47.1–57.7) | 0.001 | 40.9 (30.8–51.9) | 51.4 (44.5–58.2) | 61.1 (51.3–70.1) | > 0.05 |
| Health insurance of any type | 94.5 (93.9–95) | 90.3 (87.4–92.7) | 0.002 | 92.9 (84.9–96.8) | 88.5 (83.5–92.1) | 91.5 (86.5–94.8) | > 0.05 |
| Social-cognitive-behavioral—stress level and effects, stress and health management | |||||||
| Overall health | |||||||
| Excellent to good | 72.8 (71.5–74) | 65.3 (60.4–69.9) | < 0.05 | 57 (46.3–67) | 66.8 (60.1–72.8) | 68.4 (57.7–77.4) | > 0.05 |
| Fair to poor | 27.2 (26–28.5) | 34.7 (30.1–39.6) | < 0.05 | 43 (33–53.7) | 33.2 (27.2–39.9) | 31.6 (22.6–42.3) | > 0.05 |
| Major depressive episode | |||||||
| In lifetime | d | d | NA | d | d | d | NA |
| In past year | d | d | NA | d | d | d | NA |
| Depression severity in past year | |||||||
| Thoughts/plans of suicide | 24.5 (23.4–25.7) | 27.1 (23.1–31.4) | > 0.05 | 27.8 (19.2–38.5) | 30.9 (25–37.5) | 20.8 (15.3–27.8) | > 0.05 |
| Serious psychological distress | 56.2 (54.8–57.6) | 66.7 (61.9–71.2) | < 0.0001 | 50.7 (42.8–58.6) | 47.3 (44.1–50.5) | 41.7 (36.8–46.7) | > 0.05 |
| MDE with severe role impairment | 45.6 (44.2–47) | 50.8 (45.6–56) | > 0.05 | 60.9 (50–70.7) | 48.7 (42–55.4) | 47.8 (37.9–57.9) | > 0.05 |
| Depressive symptoms management in past year | |||||||
| Saw/talked to primary care doctor | 50.8 (49.4–52.2) | 46.2 (41.3–51.2) | > 0.05 | 52.8 (41.6–63.7) | 43 (36.9–49.4) | 46.8 (37–56.9) | > 0.05 |
| Saw/talked to psychologist | 24.3 (23–30.5) | 26.6 (23.1–25.5) | > 0.05 | 31.6 (23.1–41.4) | 23.1 (18.5–28.4) | 28.7 (21.5–37.2) | > 0.05 |
| Saw/talked to social worker | 19.6 (18.6–20.6) | 20.4 (16.9–24.3) | > 0.05 | 23.7 (15.4–34.6) | 21.1 (16.5–26.7) | 17.1 (11.5–24.8) | > 0.05 |
| Social-cognitive-behavioral—cultural factors and stigma, beliefs about healing, and religious beliefs | |||||||
| Reasons for no mental health treatment in past year | |||||||
| Concerns about confidentiality | 8.2 (5.7–13.2) | 8.8 (7–9.5) | > 0.05 | 12.3 (4.7–28.7) | 9.3 (5.3–15.8) | 5.3 (2.6–10.5) | > 0.05 |
| Did not think it would help | 11.9 (8.1–17.6) | 12 (10.5–13.4) | > 0.05 | 12 (5.4–24.4) | 12.1 (6.7–20.8) | 12 (5.6–23.9) | > 0.05 |
| Did not think it was needed | 7.7 (6.7–8.9) | 11.9 (8–17.4) | > 0.05 | 11.7 (4.6–26.8) | 14.3 (8.7 –22.6) | 8 (2.8–20.8) | > 0.05 |
| Religious beliefs influence decisions | |||||||
| Agree to strongly agree | 62.8 (61.5–64.1) | 63.4 (58.4–68.2) | > 0.05 | 61.2 (51–70.4) | 64.5 (57.8–70.7) | 63.3 (53.1–72.4) | > 0.05 |
| Disagree to strongly disagree | 37.2 (35.9–38.5) | 36.6 (31.8– 41.6) | > 0.05 | 38.8 (29.6–49) | 35.5 (29.3–42.2) | 36.7 (27.6–46.9) | > 0.05 |
| Number of years living in USA | |||||||
| Less than 5 | 0.5 (0.3–0.7) | 2 (1.0–4.1) | < 0.0001 | e | e | e | NA |
| 5 to less than 10 | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) | 1.2 (0.6–2.5) | < 0.0001 | 4.4 (1.7–10.7)e | 0.6 (0.2–2.4)e | 6.4 (3.2–12.4)e | < 0.0001b |
| 10 or more | 3.2 (2.7–3.7) | 23.6 (19–28.8) | < 0.0001 | 24.6 (15.4–36.9) | 21 (14.8–28.9) | 26.7 (19.4–35.7) | > 0.05 |
| US born | 96.1 (95.5–96.6) | 73.2 (67.9–77.9) | < 0.0001 | 71 (58.9–80.8) | 78.4 (70.5–84.6) | 66.9 (57.6–75) | > 0.05 |
aSignificant difference between Latinx adults with major depressive disorder born in Puerto Rico compared with Mexico. bSignificant difference between Latinx adults with major depressive disorder born in Puerto Rico vs other Latinx countries. c Significant difference between Latinx adults with major depressive disorder born in Puerto Rico vs other Latinx countries. dRDAS analysis results suppressed to protect a respondent’s identity from disclosure. e < 5- and 5 to < 10-year groups were combined to receive RDAS results
Between group comparisons conducted using 2-way cross tabulation and Wald chi-square test of association
CI, confidence interval; EDH, ethnic determinants of health; FPT, federal poverty threshold; MDE, major depressive episode; NA, not applicable; RDAS, Restricted-Use Data Analysis System