RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS AMONG U.S. ADULT POPULATION

Depression is a common but serious illness, which may have significant impact on a person’s daily life. This study examined racial/ethnic disparities on the prevalence of lifetime diagnosis of depression and current depression according to 2010 Behav-ioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Logistic regression models were constructed to calculate odds ratios for comparing prevalence rates of depres-sion across racial/ethnic groups. Significant racial/ethnic differences were found in both the prevalence of lifetime diagnosis of depression and current depression. Re-gional disparities were also found to be significant in the prevalence of depressive disorders across racial/ethnic groups