Depressed Americans Don't Undergo Therapy

A new scientific study has revealed that about 50 percent of all Americans who suffer from depression do not get treated for their conditions. Of those who do receive medication or other forms of therapy, only a small portion are treated according to their actual needs. The investigation has also determined that some of the most important factors that played a role in determining whether a depression patient received treatment are ethnicity and race. The paper reveals that African Americans and Mexicans are the least likely to receive professional help when depressed, LiveScience reports.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) advise that, while it's normal for people to feel sad at times, depression sets in when these feelings start interfering with everyday life. If the condition starts hindering a person's ability to eat, work or sleep, then they should seek professional help, the US health authority states. It adds that factors such as genetic predispositions, brain chemical imbalances and stress play the most important part in the onset and development of depression.

The idea that many Americans go untreated for depression is not new, as it has been documented before. However, this is the first research to break test subjects down in ethic and racial groups, and look at the disparities between the two. The research team behind the investigation reveals that data on more than 15,762 participants were analyzed for the new conclusions. Information from the National Institute of Mental Health's Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys was also used. This study incorporates three different surveys that were conducted between 2001 and 2003.

Hector M. Gonzalez, a study researcher from the Wayne State University, in Detroit, Michigan, says that the new paper finally reveals the truth about the level of healthcare that Mexicans receive. He says that previous researches have shown that Whites and Latinos receive about the same amount and quality of care. But the disparities that have been identified in the new study prove this to be false. “By breaking Latinos down into subethnicities, we found these disparities in care,” he explains.