Lack of treatment for depressed people in the U.S.

Most Americans with depression are not receiving adequate treatment and this situation is particularly bad among Mexican Americans and African Americans. A team of researchers led by Hector M. Gonzalez from Wayne State University in Detroit studied 15,762 people from all over the 48 states of mainland America. They assessed the severity of their depression using questionnaires and asked people whether they had received treatment in the last year. Despite having symptoms that were just as bad depressed Mexican Americans and Africa Americans received less treatment than other group. All groups used more psychotherapy than drugs and this bias was particularly strong in Caribbean black and African American people.

Gonzalez, Hector M. ... [et al] - Depression care in the United States: too little for too few Archives of General Psychiatry January 2010, 67(1), 37-46