Psychiatr News December 2, 2005
Volume 40, Number 23, page 14
Professional News

Depression Treatment in Black Women Must Consider Social Factors
Eve Bender

An understanding of the societal, environmental, and biologic factors
that combine to raise the risk of depression in African-American women
will drive successful prevention strategies, according to one expert.

African-American women are especially vulnerable to depression due to a
convergence of societal and biological factors such as stress related
to racial discrimination and high prevalence rates of health problems
such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Depression screening and prevention programs must take into account
these and additional factors in order to be successful, according to
Annelle Primm, M.D., M.P.H., who spoke at the APA Institute on
Psychiatric Services in San Diego in October.

Primm, director of APA's Office of Minority and National Affairs, noted
that several studies have found a higher rate of depressive symptoms
and psychological distress among African-American and Latino women,
compared with white women. The higher prevalence rates remained after
controlling for socioeconomic status, she added.

Some of the risk factors for depression in women, such as low
socioeconomic status and educational attainment, single marital status,
and being a working mother, are more prevalent among African-American
women than among white women....

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