Table 1.
Weighted population characteristics for youth ages 5 to 17 by race/ethnicity, 2010–2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
| N | White | White | Black | Black | Latino | Latino |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2011 4,690 |
2016–2017 3,949 |
2010–2011 2,967 |
2016–2017 2,392 |
2010–2011 4,911 |
2016–2017 5,287 |
|
| Dependent variables | ||||||
| Any mental health care use (%) | 12.9 | 15.0 | 9.1*** | 8.0*** | 5.7*** | 7.8*** |
| Mental health expenditures given use ($) | 1704.3 | 2094.4 | 1307.6 | 2140.1 | 1309.2 | 1751.8 |
| Any outpatient mental health care use (%) | 10.2 | 13.3 | 6.4*** | 6.9*** | 4.5*** | 6.8*** |
| Outpatient mental health expenditures given use ($) | 1118.4 | 1680.1 | 716.1 | 1780.0 | 910.0 | 1401.3 |
| Any psychotropic medication use (%) | 9.1 | 7.8 | 6.8* | 4.7** | 3.2*** | 3.5*** |
| Psychotropic medication expenditures given use ($) | 1164.4 | 1144.1 | 1058.0 | 1061.8 | 1062.5 | 1199.1 |
| Need and preference | ||||||
| Age (%) | ||||||
| 5–9 | 36.7 | 35.9 | 37.3 | 38.4 | 41.6*** | 38.3 |
| 10–13 | 31.0 | 30.8 | 31.0 | 29.6 | 29.5 | 30.3 |
| 14–17 | 32.3 | 33.3 | 31.7 | 32.0 | 28.9* | 31.4 |
| Gender (%) | ||||||
| Female | 49.2 | 48.9 | 49.5 | 48.9 | 48.8 | 49.0 |
| MH status (%) | ||||||
| Excellent | 54.9 | 54.1 | 52.7 | 57.7 | 48.26** | 55.0 |
| Very good | 28.0 | 29.9 | 24.6* | 21.8*** | 29.1 | 23.5*** |
| Good | 14.7 | 13.2 | 18.2* | 17.2** | 19.7* | 19.0*** |
| Fair | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9*** | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| Poor | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Psychological impairment (%) (age<18only) | ||||||
| Columbia impairment scale >16 | 9.9 | 7.3 | 10.8 | 7.7 | 6.9*** | 4.5*** |
| Any activity limitation (%) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3** | 0.4 | 0.4** |
| Health status (%) | ||||||
| Excellent | 60.9 | 63.0 | 56.5* | 58.7* | 46.6*** | 55.8*** |
| Very good | 25.9 | 25.1 | 23.7 | 23.2 | 29.2* | 22.9 |
| Good | 11.3 | 10.2 | 16.5*** | 15.0*** | 19.7*** | 17.4*** |
| Fair | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.9*** | 2.7* | 3.9*** | 3.2*** |
| Poor | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5*** |
| Socioeconomic status | ||||||
| Family income level (%) %FPL | ||||||
| <100% FPL | 10.9 | 10.4 | 34.5*** | 31.3*** | 34.0*** | 25.2*** |
| 100–125% FPL | 3.3 | 2.4 | 9.0*** | 8.6*** | 10.6*** | 8.6*** |
| 126–200% FPL | 13.9 | 12.9 | 17.1* | 17.7** | 20.8*** | 21.7*** |
| 201–400% FPL | 35.6 | 31.7 | 24.7*** | 27.4* | 24.5*** | 29.2 |
| > 400% FPL | 35.6 | 42.7 | 14.8*** | 15.2*** | 10.1*** | 15.4*** |
| Insurance status (%) | ||||||
| Private | 70.1 | 67.7 | 34.5*** | 30.8*** | 29.0*** | 32.8*** |
| Medicaid/SCHIP | 24.4 | 29.8 | 60.9*** | 66.4*** | 60.3*** | 61.8*** |
| Medicare | 0.1 | 0.02 | 0.5 | 0.1* | 0.3 | 0.1* |
| Uninsured | 5.4 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 10.5*** | 5.2** |
| Region (%) | ||||||
| Northeast | 18.8 | 17.1 | 16.3 | 15.5 | 11.8* | 12.0** |
| Midwest | 27.2 | 28.7 | 18.1** | 18.0*** | 10.1*** | 10.5*** |
| South | 35.2 | 35.4 | 56.9*** | 59.0*** | 35.8 | 37.6 |
| West | 18.9 | 18.8 | 8.7*** | 7.6*** | 42.4*** | 39.9*** |
Note: All comparisons between White and minority group; Calculations are weighted to be representative of the entire US population; Data: Combined yearly cross-sectional data from 2010–2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). FPL = federal poverty level; MH = mental health.
*
p<0.05.
**
p<0.01;
***
p<0.001.