Antidepressant Use in a Nationally Representative Sample of Community-Dwelling US Latinos With and Without Depressive and Anxiety Disorders

Antidepressant drugs are widely prescribed in the United States; however, little is known about their use among major ethnic minority groups. Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) data were analyzed to calculate nationally representative estimates of Latino and non-Latino white adults’ antidepressant use. The authors found a disparity in antidepressant use for Mexican Americans, compared to non-Latino whites, that was not accounted for by differences in need and access to care. About one-third of antidepressant use was by respondents not meeting criteria for depressive or anxiety disorders. The findings underscore the importance of disaggregating Latino ethnic groups.