Concordance between two measures of depression in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

A concordance analysis between the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) for current major depression was conducted using data from Cuban Americans and Puerto Rican respondents to the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). Overall agreement between the two depression measures was relatively high, which suggested that the CES-D might be appropriate as a first-stage screening instrument for community-based surveys of clinical depression. Female gender and indicators of social class (education, income, poverty index, and employment) were related to low specificity and low agreement. The estimated cutoff points of the CES-D that best predicted DIS current major depression were different between the two ethnic groups; 17 for Cuban Americans, and 20 for Puerto Ricans. A receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the traditional method of defining CES-D cases by summing the scores for each item was superior to counting only the persistent symptoms, that is, those present nearly everyday.

Depression among Cuban Americans. The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

This paper presents the findings on depressive symptomatology and major depressive disorder in Cuban American respondents to the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). The HHANES represents the first population-based assessment of the mental health status of Cuban Americans. High levels of depression, as measured by a CES-D score of 16 or more, were found in ten percent of the sample. Female gender was independently associated with CES-D caseness. The lifetime, six-month, and one-month prevalence rates of major depressive disorder, as measured by the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), were 3.15%, 2.12%, and 1.50%, respectively. An income level of less than ten thousand dollars was independently associated with a lifetime diagnosis of major depression.

Depressive symptoms among Mexican Americans: the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

This paper presents findings on depressive symptomatology among 3,118 Mexican-American adults who participated in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). In 1982-1984, the National Institute of Mental Health Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was administered to Mexican Americans aged 20-74 years as part of the HHANES examination component. Respondents reported in either English or Spanish on both the presence and persistence of depressive symptoms during the week prior to the interview. The caseness rate (high levels of depressive symptoms) was 13.3%. Factors associated with increased risk of high levels of depressive symptoms were female sex, low educational achievement, low income, and US birth combined with Anglo-oriented acculturation. There were no significant differences by language. The relatively low prevalence rate and the increased risk associated with US birth/Anglo-oriented acculturation indicate the need for more multifactor studies and the investigation of possible additional factors that may contribute to the mental health of Mexican Americans.