News Release: Research , School of Medicine , School of Public Health , Woodruff Health Sciences
Feb. 22, 2011
Treatment for Major Depression in Teens Less Likely for Minorities
The study used a representative sample of 7,704 adolescents, 12-17 years of age, who were diagnosed with major depression within the previous year. (Photo credit: Naseer Haider Siddiqui.)ATLANTA – An Emory study released today reinforces the fact that mental health care across in the United States is not equitable when it comes to major depression in children 12-17.
Researchers from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, Dr. Janet R. Cummings and Dr. Benjamin G. Druss analyzed five years of data (2004 – 2008) collected from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) with a representative sample of 7,704 adolescents, 12-17 years of age, who were diagnosed with major depression within the previous year.
The article “Racial/Ethnic Differences in Mental Health Service Use Among Adolescents With Major Depression,” published in the February 2011 edition of Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry indicate the percentage of non-Hispanic whites who received any major depression treatment was 40% compared with 32% in blacks, 31% in Hispanics, and 19% in Asians after adjusting for demographics and health status.
Cummings and Druss report that one fourth of all adolescents with major depression received school-based counseling. “Investment in quality improvement programs implemented in primary care settings as well as school-based mental health services may reduce unmet need for mental health services in all adolescents with major depression and reduce the sizeable differences in service use across racial/ethnic groups.
The full study, which was supported by a National Institute of Mental Health grant, can be found online.
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