Late life anxiety and depression symptoms, and suicidal behaviors in racial/ethnic minority older adults in community-based organizations and community clinics in the U.S.

OBJECTIVE

Late life anxiety and depression represent a significant source of disability, with racial/ethnic minority older adults in the U.S. showing marked disparities in healthy aging. Community-based organizations (CBOs) and community clinics serve these populations for preventive care, yet few identify their mental health service needs. We examine the association between race/ethnicity and risk of mild-to-severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, and suicidal behaviors in minority older adults.

METHOD: Data come from the multisite randomized controlled trial Building Community Capacity for Disability Prevention for Minority Elders, which screened 1,057 adults (45.5% Asian, 26.8% Latinx, 15.0% non-Latinx Black, 8.5% non-Latinx White, and 4.2% American Indian) aged 60 + years at CBOs and clinics in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Screened participants completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety symptoms, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) for depression symptoms, and the Paykel Suicide Risk Questionnaire for suicidal behaviors.

RESULTS

28.1% of older adults reported mild-to-severe anxiety symptoms, 30.1% reported mild-to-severe depression symptoms, and 4.3% reported at least one suicidal behavior. Compared to non-Latinx Whites, Latinxs had higher odds of mild-to-severe anxiety and depression symptoms and one or more suicidal behaviors, and Asians had higher odds of mild-to-severe depression symptoms only.

CONCLUSIONS

There is an urgent need to improve outreach for screening and preventive mental health care for minority older adults. Expanding outreach and community-based capacity to identify and treat minority older adults with mental health conditions represents an opportunity to prevent disability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).