The National Institute of Mental Health reported last week on a study finding that only half of Americans diagnosed with major depression during the prior year received some kind of treatment for it, with only 21 percent receiving care that was consistent with established guidelines.

"Scientists at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, carried out the current study … The investigators were able to break out types of care used, and to assess to what extent the care used was consistent with the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder. Finally, they examined how factors enabling healthcare access—insurance, education, and household income—influenced rates of care …

Acrossall population groups, psychotherapy was used more frequently than medications (pharmacotherapy). Overall, 34 percent received pharmacotherapy; 45 percent psychotherapy. Psychotherapy was more likely to be consistent with APA guidelines than pharmacotherapy, suggesting that adherence—the extent to which patients completed the recommended therapy—was greater for psychotherapy than pharmacotherapy …

Health insurance coverage was associated with a greater likelihood of depression care, but not guideline consistent care. The pattern with education was reversed: education was associated with a greater likelihood of care that was consistent with the APA Guidelines, but not with greater use of care in general."

The study offers goodinformation on specific ethnic groups, including their rates of treatment and the type and quality of treatment utilized: Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Caribbean Blacks, African Americans, and non-Latino Whites.