Undiagnosed depression, persistent depressive symptoms and seeking mental health care: analysis of immigrant and non-immigrant participants of the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging. (2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Farid, D.; Li, P.; Da Costa, D.; Afif, W.; Szabo, J.; Dasgupta, K.; Rahme, E.
• Is Part Of: Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences. Volume 29(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020
• Subjects: CLSA, -- cohort, -- depression, -- immigrant, -- mental health, -- national representative sample; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Mental illness -- Periodicals; Community psychiatry -- Periodicals; 362.2
• DOI: 10.1017/S2045796020000670
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7960

Abstract

Abstract: Aims: Early diagnosis and treatment of depression are associated with better prognosis. We used baseline data of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (2012–2015; ages 45–85 years) to examine differences in prevalence and predictors of undiagnosed depression (UD) between immigrants and non-immigrants at baseline and persistent and/or emerging depressive symptoms (DS) 18 months later. At this second time point, we also examined if a mental health care professional (MHCP) had been consulted. Methods: We excluded individuals with any prior mood disorder and/or current anti-depressive medication use at baseline. UD was defined as the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression 10 score ⩾10. DS at 18 months were defined as Kessler 10 score ⩾19. The associations of interest were examined in multivariate logistic regression models. Results: Our study included 4382 immigrants and 18 620 non-immigrants. The mean age (standard deviation) in immigrants was 63 (10.3) years v. 65 (10.7) years in non-immigrants and 52.1% v. 57.1% were male. Among immigrants, 12.2% had UD at baseline of whom 34.2% had persistent DS 18 months later v. 10.6% and 31.4%, respectively, among non-immigrants. Female immigrants were more likely to have UD than female non-immigrants (odds ratio 1.50, 95% confidence interval 1.25–1.80) but no difference observed for men. The risk of persistent DS and consulting an MHCP at 18 months did not differ between immigrants and non-immigrants. Conclusions: Female immigrants may particularly benefit from depression screening. Seeking mental health care in the context of DS should be encouraged.