Inadequate mental health care for blacks with depression and diabetes, high blood pressure

Center for Advancing Health

According to a study recently published in General Hospital Psychiatry, black patients with depression and another chronic medical condition (such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes) tend to receive inadequate mental health treatment. According to the research, just 19 percent of black patients with major depression alone, 8 percent with depression and type 2 diabetes, and 22 percent with depression and high blood pressure reported receiving psychotherapy or antidepressant treatment in line with American Psychiatric Association guidelines. “We found depression treatment below par for minorities, even those with co-morbid diabetes or hypertension,” said lead study author Amma Agyemang. “ Having a mental illness and a medical illness makes both more complex to treat, and the rate of obtaining depression treatment remains low for this population.” According to Agyemang, diagnostic tools for depression are designed based on white patients, and physicians do not receive enough training in detecting and diagnosing mental illnesses among minority groups.

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