Racial/ethnic differences in rates of depression among preretirement adults.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated racial/ethnic differences in rates of major depression and investigated possible mediators.

METHODS: Depression prevalence rates among African American, Hispanic, and White adults were estimated from a population-based national sample and adjusted for potential confounders.

RESULTS: African Americans (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.93, 1.44) and Hispanics (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.04) exhibited elevated rates of major depression relative to Whites. After control for confounders, Hispanics and Whites exhibited similar rates, and African Americans exhibited significantly lower rates than Whites.

CONCLUSIONS: Major depression and factors associated with depression were more frequent among members of minority groups than among Whites. Elevated depression rates among minority individuals are largely associated with greater health burdens and lack of health insurance, factors amenable to public policy intervention.