Adzrago David, Elhabashy Maryam, Williams David R, Williams Faustine
Division of Intramural Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Prev Med Rep. 2025 Apr 3;54:103052. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103052. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Psychological distress is associated with increased likelihood of chronic disease and mortality. Limited research has explored psychological distress among nationally representative minority and immigrant persons, especially Black and White immigrant populations who may be uniquely susceptible to psychological distress, its risk factors, and comorbidities. This current study aimed to estimate the prevalence of moderate to severe (hereafter, moderate-severe) psychological distress and assess its risk factors among Black and White immigrants, respectively.
Drawing from the 2005-2018 National Health Interview Surveys data, this study analyzed a sample of Black ( = 5939) and White ( = 40,127) immigrants using weighted Chi-square test and logistic regression analyses. The interaction between race (Black and White immigrants) and each of the predictors was assessed, adjusting for the rest of the predictors.
The prevalence of moderate-severe psychological distress was higher among White immigrants (19.56 %) compared to Black immigrants (17.43 %). Several sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors (i.e., low education, higher BMI, poverty, and smoking) were more strongly associated with elevated distress among Black immigrants. Age, acculturation, and alcohol drinking status significantly moderated the association between race and moderate-severe psychological distress among immigrants.
The findings revealed that psychological distress prevalence and risk factors differ across Black and White immigrant populations, with more pronounced behavioral risks among Black immigrants. More population-specific mental health interventions may help reduce mental health disparities in immigrant communities while conducting longitudinal studies to characterize mental health patterns and changes with their risk factors over time among immigrant populations.
心理困扰与慢性病和死亡率增加相关。有限的研究探讨了具有全国代表性的少数族裔和移民人群中的心理困扰，尤其是黑人和白人移民群体，他们可能特别容易受到心理困扰、其风险因素和共病的影响。本研究旨在分别估计黑人和白人移民中中度至重度（以下简称中重度）心理困扰的患病率，并评估其风险因素。
本研究利用2005 - 2018年全国健康访谈调查数据，采用加权卡方检验和逻辑回归分析，对5939名黑人移民和40127名白人移民样本进行了分析。评估种族（黑人和白人移民）与每个预测因素之间的相互作用，并对其他预测因素进行调整。
白人移民中重度心理困扰的患病率（19.56%）高于黑人移民（17.43%）。一些社会人口学和行为风险因素（即低教育水平、较高的体重指数、贫困和吸烟）与黑人移民中更高的困扰程度更密切相关。年龄、文化适应程度和饮酒状况显著调节了移民中种族与中重度心理困扰之间的关联。
研究结果表明，黑人和白人移民群体中心理困扰的患病率和风险因素存在差异，黑人移民中的行为风险更为明显。更具针对性的心理健康干预措施可能有助于减少移民社区中的心理健康差距，同时开展纵向研究以描述移民群体心理健康模式及其风险因素随时间的变化。
