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Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and white older adults.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Blazer, DG; Landerman, LR; Hays, JC; Simonsick, EM; Saunders, WB
Published in: Psychol Med
November 1998

BACKGROUND: Few studies have explored the variance in individual symptoms by race in older adults. METHODS: Data were analysed from the Duke site of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE), a community sample of persons 65 years-of-age and older, 54% of whom were African-Americans. Of the 3401 subjects with adequate data on depressive symptomatology, confirmatory factor analysis and LISREL were first used to confirm the presence of the factor structure previously reported for the CES-D. Next, bivariate analysis was performed to determine the prevalence of individual symptoms by race. Finally, LISREL analysis was performed to control for potential confounding variables. RESULTS: When bivariate comparisons of specific symptoms by race were explored, African-Americans were more likely to report less hope about the future, poor appetite, difficulty concentrating, requiring more effort for usual activities, less talking, feeling people were unfriendly, feeling disliked by others and being more 'bothered' than usual. When LISREL analyses were applied to these data (controlling for education, income, cognitive impairment, chronic health problems and disability and other factors) racial differences in somatic complaints and life satisfaction disappeared, yet differences in interpersonal relations persisted. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms earlier findings of minimal overall differences in symptom frequency between African-American and non-African-American community-dwelling older adults in controlled studies.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Psychol Med

DOI

ISSN

0033-2917

Publication Date

November 1998

Volume

28

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1311 / 1320

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • White People
  • Somatoform Disorders
  • Psychometrics
  • Psychiatry
  • North Carolina
  • Motivation
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Humans
  • Geriatric Assessment
 

Citation

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MLA
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Blazer, D. G., Landerman, L. R., Hays, J. C., Simonsick, E. M., & Saunders, W. B. (1998). Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and white older adults. Psychol Med, 28(6), 1311–1320. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291798007648
Blazer, D. G., L. R. Landerman, J. C. Hays, E. M. Simonsick, and W. B. Saunders. “Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and white older adults.Psychol Med 28, no. 6 (November 1998): 1311–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291798007648.
Blazer DG, Landerman LR, Hays JC, Simonsick EM, Saunders WB. Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and white older adults. Psychol Med. 1998 Nov;28(6):1311–20.
Blazer, D. G., et al. “Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and white older adults.Psychol Med, vol. 28, no. 6, Nov. 1998, pp. 1311–20. Pubmed, doi:10.1017/s0033291798007648.
Blazer DG, Landerman LR, Hays JC, Simonsick EM, Saunders WB. Symptoms of depression among community-dwelling elderly African-American and white older adults. Psychol Med. 1998 Nov;28(6):1311–1320.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychol Med

DOI

ISSN

0033-2917

Publication Date

November 1998

Volume

28

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1311 / 1320

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • White People
  • Somatoform Disorders
  • Psychometrics
  • Psychiatry
  • North Carolina
  • Motivation
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Humans
  • Geriatric Assessment