Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center researcher Daniel Jimenez and the team recently found a relationship between the prevalence of psychiatric illnesses and older ethnic minority adults of Latino and Asian ethnicities. The findings were published recently in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
While prior research in the field focused primarily on younger ethnic populations., this study instead targeted the growing number of immigrants aged 65 and older with Latino and Asian ancestry. Taking into account the importance of nativity, the researcher team entertained the possibility that acculturation might be a leading cause of depression for members across all ethnic groups
The researchers combined data from three epidemiological studies, the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), the National Study of American Life (NSAL), and the National Comorbidity Study Replication (NCS-R). In each of these studies, subjects completed an altered version of the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI), which identified the presence of lifetime and 12-month psychiatric disorders.
The different psychiatric disorders were classified into four distinct categories: depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, substance disorder, or any assessed psychiatric disorder. In addition to these interview questions, participants were also asked to reflect on their English-speaking skills. All the ethnic and racial groups that participated in the study indicated that their English proficiency was either fair or poor, excepting Afro-Caribbean respondents, who indicated that their English was either good or excellent.
Analysis of the data found that older non-Latino whites showed a great propensity for several lifetime diagnoses as compared to older Asian, Africa-American, and Afro-Caribbean respondents. However, older Latinos demonstrated similar rates of lifetime diagnoses of illness and even high 12-month rates of any depressive disorder. The researchers found no significant differences pertaining to 12-month diagnoses between older non-Latino whites and other ethnic and racial groups.
Further analysis indicated that older immigrant Latinos had higher lifetime rates of general anxiety disorder and dysthymia (a chronic mood disorder) as well as higher 12-month diagnoses than U.S. born Latinos.
Based on the results of the data, the researchers concluded that the depression in immigrants is primarily caused by a feeling of isolation stemming from an inability to speak English.
Given the increasing age and diversity of immigrants to the U.S., the researchers propose that further research should be done in this field. To provide accurate health services, an understanding of various cultures and the tendency towards psychiatric disorders is crucial.