Author/Authors :
Gathuru، Irene M نويسنده Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, School of
Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,
USA , , Odukoya، Olufunmilola K نويسنده Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, School of
Pharmacy, Clinical Translational Science Institute, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA , , Thorpe، Joshua M نويسنده Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Center for Health
Equity Research and Promotion, School of Pharmacy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA ,
Abstract :
Background: Although depression is common psychiatric disorder that occurs among 20% of adults in the United States, depression screening occurs in less than 3% of physician visits. Moreover, most patients with depressive symptoms underreport their symptoms to their primary care provider. Thus, more screening is warranted to identify individuals with depressive symptoms in need of further evaluation.
Objectives: To identify the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics that predicted the severity of depressive symptomatology among mid-life and older adults who participated in community screenings outside a primary care setting.
Patients and Methods: This is a secondary data analysis of 1,044 respondents aged 35 - 86 years who returned for Visit 2 of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS 2) Survey during 2004 - 2006. Health behaviors and medical history, including depression, were ascertained with telephone interviews and self-administered mail questionnaires. Respondents were screened for depressive symptoms during the previous week using the instrument, The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, with a range of 0-60. A CES-D score of 16 or greater was indicative of depressive symptomatology. Non-prescribed and prescribed medications, including antidepressants, were identified using the Multum Lexicon therapeutic classification system. Data were analyzed using bivariate analysis (t-tests and chi-square tests Pearson correlation) and multivariate linear regression to identify predictors of depressive symptomatology.
Results: There were 138 (13.2%) of the 1,044 participants with a CES-D score of 16 or greater and 31.9% of these participants were currently using antidepressant therapy. Significant predictors of the severity of depressive symptomatology in both men and women included history of depression, marital status, and self-rated physical health. Race did not predict depressive symptoms in either gender. Both age and use of prescribed medication predicted the severity of depressive symptomatology in women, but not in men.
Conclusions: Under treatment of depressive symptoms is prevalent among adults in the United States. Knowledge of patient-specific characteristics can be useful in identifying individuals who may benefit from early screening and proactive management of depression.
