Citation

Dallo FJ, Kindratt TB, Snell T. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2013; 48(12): 1923-1930.

Affiliation

Wellness, Health Promotion and Injury Prevention, School of Health Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309-4428, USA, dallo@oakland.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00127-013-0703-1

PMID

23661150

Abstract

PURPOSE: Serious psychological distress (SPD) is an understudied health topic. When studied, estimates for minority groups are compared to that of non-Hispanic whites. Non-Hispanic whites are heterogeneous, and comprise individuals from Europe, North Africa or the Middle East. The objectives of this study are to estimate and compare the sex- and age-adjusted prevalence of SPD first by nativity status and then by region of birth (Europe, Middle East and Russia) while controlling for potential confounders. METHODS: The sample consisted of 196,483 participants, 18 years of age or older in the National Health Interview Survey (2000-2010). To measure SPD, Kessler's K6 Likert scale was used. Individuals with scores greater than or equal to 13 were considered to have SPD. RESULTS: The age- and sex- adjusted prevalence of SPD was 3 % for foreign-born non-Hispanic whites. Of this, estimates were 6 % for those from the Middle East, 3 % for Europe and 2 % for Russia (p = 0.00). In the fully adjusted multivariable model, foreign-born non-Hispanic whites from the Middle East were more likely (OR = 1.76; 95 % CI = 1.01, 3.04) to report SPD when compared to US-born non-Hispanic whites. Within the foreign-born population, non-Hispanic whites from the Middle East were more than twice as likely to report SPD (OR = 2.43; 95 % CI = 1.15, 5.14) compared to foreign-born non-Hispanic whites from Europe after controlling for confounders. CONCLUSIONS: This study's findings will help researchers understand which subgroups within non-Hispanic whites suffer most from SPD, which will facilitate tailored prevention intervention efforts.

Language: en