Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012:9:E52.
doi: 10.5888/pcd9.110104. Epub 2012 Feb 9.

Investigation of the disparity between New York City and national prevalence of nonspecific psychological distress among Hispanics

Sandra S Albrecht  1 , Katharine H McVeigh
Affiliations

Investigation of the disparity between New York City and national prevalence of nonspecific psychological distress among Hispanics

Sandra S Albrecht et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2012.

Abstract

Introduction: In New York City, the age-adjusted prevalence of nonspecific psychological distress (NPD) among Hispanics is twice that of non-Hispanic whites; nationally, there is little Hispanic-white disparity. We aimed to explain the pattern of disparity in New York City.

Methods: Data came from the 2006 National Health Interview Survey and 2006 Community Health Survey in New York City. Respondents with scores higher than 12 on the K6, a brief scale used to screen for mental health disorders, were defined as having NPD. Multivariate analyses controlled for Hispanic ancestry, socioeconomic status (education, employment, and income), nativity, language of interview, and health characteristics.

Results: In New York City, the disparity between Hispanics and whites was fully explained after accounting for the disproportionate concentration of low socioeconomic status among Hispanics (odds ratio for NPD, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.60-1.11). These factors also partially accounted for differences between Hispanics in New York City and the United States, but the prevalence of NPD overall in New York City remained elevated relative to the United States.

Conclusion: Elevated NPD prevalence among New York City Hispanics was primarily attributable to large disparities in socioeconomic status; differences between New York City and the United States remained but were not specific to Hispanics. Interventions in New York City aimed at addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health may overlap with those addressing socioeconomic inequalities. Further study into the higher overall prevalence of NPD in New York City will be necessary to inform the design and targeting of interventions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

graph
Figure.
Age-adjusted prevalence of nonspecific psychological distress by race/ethnicity, Community Health Survey (CHS) 2006 and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2006. Within CHS, the difference between the white reference group and all Hispanic groups except Mexicans and Central/South Americans was significant at P < .05. Within NHIS, there were no significant differences across racial/ethnic groups. The difference between CHS and NHIS for all racial/ethnic groups except Mexican was significant at P < .05. Nonspecific psychological distress defined as a score of >12 on the K6 scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Croft JB, Mokdad AH, Power AK, Greenlund KJ, Giles WH. Public health surveillance of serious psychological distress in the United States. Int J Public Health. 2009;54(Suppl 1):4–6. - PubMed
    1. Dohrenwend BP, Shrout PE, Egri G, Mendelsohn FS. Nonspecific psychological distress and other dimensions of psychopathology. Measures for use in the general population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1980;37(11):1229–1236. - PubMed
    1. Alegria M, Canino G, Shrout PE, Woo M, Duan N, Vila D, et al. Prevalence of mental illness in immigrant and non-immigrant US Latino groups. Am J Psychiatry. 2008;165(3):359–369. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breslau J, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Kendler KS, Su M, Williams D, Kessler RC. Specifying race-ethnic differences in risk for psychiatric disorder in a USA national sample. Psychol Med. 2006;36(1):57–68. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breslau J, Kendler KS, Su M, Gaxiola-Aguilar S, Kessler RC. Lifetime risk and persistence of psychiatric disorders across ethnic groups in the United States. Psychol Med. 2005;35(3):317–327. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types