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Black–White Differences in Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults Over Time

Rush ¹ Institute for Healthy Aging
² Alzheimer's Disease Center
Departments of ³ Internal Medicine
⁴ Preventive Medicine
⁵ Neurological Sciences
⁶ Behavorial Sciences; Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Address correspondence to Kimberly A. Skarupski, PhD, MPH, Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, 1645 W. Jackson, Suite 675, Chicago, IL, 60612-3227. E-mail: Kimberly_Skarupski{at}rush.edu

This study examines racial differences in depressive symptoms among older adults over time. The subjects were 4,275 community-dwelling persons aged 65 and older (62% Black) who participated in the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) during a period of 9 years. Depression was measured using a summary score of the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale (CES-D). We modeled depressive symptoms using the method of General Estimating Equations and a Poisson error structure. We found a significant race effect at baseline with Blacks reporting approximately 60% more symptoms than Whites ( = 0.467 on the log scale, p<.001). The differences were larger for men than for women. After controlling for age, sex, time, education, income, and related interaction terms, the baseline race effect was reduced by almost half ( = 0.225, p<.001) but remained robust. The racial differences increased slightly over time. Our findings support heightened awareness of depression in older Black populations.

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