Why are disparities in mental health important

LGBTQ individuals are more than twice as likely as heterosexual men and women to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime. Nearly one-third of Muslim Americans perceived discrimination in healthcare settings; being excluded or ignored was the most frequently conveyed type of discrimination.

Religious discrimination against Muslims is associated with depression, anxiety, subclinical paranoia, and alcohol use. When applied in an affirming manner, queer is often used as an umbrella term to describe sexual orientation or gender identity that does not conform to dominant societal norms e.

Like other minority groups, including the LGBT community, questioning and queer people are often misunderstood, overlooked, and underrepresented in the health care system and societal institutions e. Worldwide, over 65 million persons are currently displaced by war, armed conflict, or persecution, the majority of whom are located in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Globally, half of the refugees live in unstable and insecure situations. Research has identified disparities between women and men in regard to risk, prevalence, presentation, course, and treatment of mental disorders. View More. I agree. Quota sampling was conducted by ENGINE Insights to identify respondents, and statistical weighting was used during the analysis to match proportions in the Current Population Survey; therefore, the sample was representative of the overall U.

Because respondents were recruited from an opt-in panel rather than by probability sampling, other than using CIs, no inferential statistical tests were performed. Among U. White adults were more likely to report stress and worry about the health of family members and loved ones Estimates of stress and worry about social determinants of health included possible job loss A higher percentage of Hispanic adults reported stress about not having enough food Selected mental health conditions and initiation of or increase in substance use to cope with stress or emotions during the COVID pandemic were commonly reported by U.

Hispanic adults reported higher levels of stress and worry about not having enough food or stable housing than did White adults. A review of baseline mental health data from other national surveys, which used different study designs and methodologies, suggests potential increases in the mental health outcomes included in this report.

Recent data from another U. In , not having enough food was reported three times more frequently by Black persons and two times more frequently by Hispanic persons than by White persons 8.

Stigma, including harassment and discrimination, combined with social or structural determinants of health, such as inadequate access to safe housing, healthy food, transportation, and health care, can increase the risk for chronic stress among persons in racial and ethnic minority groups and potentially affect their mental and physical health, including contributing to poor outcomes from COVID 3 , 4 , 7.

Persons identified by screening as having a higher risk for mental illness are best served when treated or referred to a health care provider for intervention, including counseling, referral to services, or treatment 9 , Although racial and ethnic minority group members did not report more psychosocial stress related to health care access than did White persons, disparities in access to health care, including having a usual source of care, are preexisting factors that affect physical and mental health.

Additional public health measures are critical to address the mental and behavioral health consequences of the COVID pandemic. The campaign offers evidence-based and culturally appropriate information and resources to address the emotional health needs of adults in both English and Spanish 4.

CDC is working with national, tribal, state, and community partners; academic institutions; and other federal agencies to define, measure, and improve the emotional well-being and quality of life of the U.

Additional resources are available from CDC. The findings in this report are subject to at least five limitations. First, all responses were self-reported and might be subject to recall, response, or social desirability biases.

Second, although survey responses were weighted to be representative of U. Third, the generalizability of estimates for Hispanic populations was limited because the survey was administered in English on the Internet; therefore, Spanish-only speakers might not have been included. Fourth, the data are cross-sectional, which precludes the ability to make causal inferences. Finally, the sample size was small 1, , which limited certain types of analysis and resulted in small cell sizes for some comparisons.

Policies and structural programs can be adapted or developed to reduce preexisting racial and ethnic group disparities in social determinants of health e. The mental health and psychosocial needs of U. Office for National Statistics. Safety in custody: quarterly update to December Ministry of Justice. Am J Public Health ; — Racial discrimination is associated with distressing subthreshold positive psychotic symptoms among US urban ethnic minority young adults.

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Psychiatr bull ; 26 —4. Antipsychotic prescribing quality and ethnicity — a study of hospitalized patients in south east London. J Psychopharmacol ; 21 —7. Connolly A, Taylor D. Ethnicity and quality of antipsychotic prescribing among in-patients in south London. Br J Psychiatry ; —2. Antipsychotic prescribing in Black and White hospitalised patients. J Psychopharmacol ; 25 —9. British National Formulary. Medicines Complete. International Consensus Study of Antipsychotic Dosing.

AJP ; — Taylor DM. Prescribing of clozapine and olanzapine: dosage, polypharmacy and patient ethnicity. Psychiatr bull ; 28 —3. Systematic review of racial disparities in clozapine prescribing.

Schizophrenia Research ; —8. Can J Psychiatry ; 63 — PS ; 64 —7. Ethnic minority inequalities in access to treatments for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders: findings from a nationally representative cross-sectional study. BMC Med ; BAP guidelines on the management of weight gain, metabolic disturbances and cardiovascular risk associated with psychosis and antipsychotic drug treatment.

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Excess mortality in persons with severe mental disorders: a multilevel intervention framework and priorities for clinical practice, policy and research agendas. World Psychiatry ; 16 — Ethnic inequalities in the incidence of diagnosis of severe mental illness in England: a systematic review and new meta-analyses for non-affective and affective psychoses. Schizophrenia in black Caribbeans living in the UK: an exploration of underlying causes of the high incidence rate. Br J Gen Pract ; 58 — Cantor-Graae E.

Ethnic minority groups, particularly African-Caribbean and Black African groups, are at increased risk of psychosis in the UK. Evidence-Based Mental Health ; 10 — Ethnic variations in compulsory detention under the Mental Health Act: a systematic review and meta-analysis of international data. The Lancet Psychiatry ; 6 — Arch Gen Psychiatry ; 62 The acute efficacy of antipsychotics in schizophrenia: a review of recent meta-analyses.

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