Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Lower Response Rates To Antidepressants Found With African-Americans, Latinos

Drawing from data in the nation's largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depression, a team led by researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center reported in November's Medical Care journal that African-Americans and Latinos didn't respond as well as whites to medication for their depression.

The study suggests that the lower response rates may stem from differences in socioeconomic background -- rather than race or ethnicity per se. When some of the socioeconomic and health disparities present when subjects entered the study were taken into account, the researchers found the response to antidepressant medications was more similar among all groups.

Dr. Ira Lesser, a LA BioMed investigator who authored the report along with a team of researchers including LA BioMed investigator Daniel B. Castro, said these findings suggest African-Americans and Latinos from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may need more than medication to be treated successfully for depression.

READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY