School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
J Ment Health. 2011 Jun;20(3):260-9. doi: 10.3109/09638237.2011.562260.
Considering the heterogeneity within the immigrant population, this study aimed to examine racial variations in major depressive disorder (MDD) onset and the factors associated with it among immigrants in the United States.
Data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was employed to estimate survival functions by race. The Cox proportional hazards model was employed to explore the factors associated with MDD onset after controlling for socio-demographic and immigration-related sample characteristics.
Asians showed the highest survival function, followed by African Americans. A Cox proportional hazards model indicated that those who were younger, female, and non-Asian were more likely to experience an MDD onset than were their older, male, and Asian counterparts. None of the immigration-related characteristics were found to be significantly associated with MDD onset among foreign-born individuals.
Findings from this study reveal that different racial groups experience different patterns of MDD onset over time. Exploring the factors associated with MDD onset will help mental health providers identify vulnerable subgroups among immigrant populations and, in turn, promote adequate mental health services for them.
考虑到移民群体内部存在异质性，本研究旨在考察美国移民中重度抑郁症（MDD）发病的种族差异及其相关因素。
对合作精神流行病学调查的数据进行了分析。采用 Kaplan-Meier 方法按种族估计生存函数。采用 Cox 比例风险模型，在控制社会人口学和移民相关样本特征的基础上，探讨 MDD 发病的相关因素。
亚洲人的生存函数最高，其次是非裔美国人。Cox 比例风险模型表明，与年龄较大、男性和亚裔相比，年龄较小、女性和非亚裔的人更有可能出现 MDD 发病。在外国出生的个体中，没有发现任何与移民相关的特征与 MDD 发病显著相关。
本研究结果表明，不同的种族群体在不同的时间经历不同的 MDD 发病模式。探讨 MDD 发病的相关因素将有助于心理健康服务提供者识别移民群体中的脆弱亚组，并为他们提供适当的心理健康服务。
