Male Depression | getting treatment isn't as clear cut as we all think

Male Depression, who needs help?  Close to one in 10 American men suffer from depression or anxiety, but fewer than half get treatment.

Across all ages, survey results from 21,058 indicate 8.5% of U.S. men suffer from depression or anxiety on a daily basis, although only 41% of these men actually sought treatment. Of the men under 45 years of age, 39.2% said they had either taken medication or visited a mental health professional for daily anxiety or depression during the prior year.

• This put these younger men roughly on a par with the estimated 42.3% of men 45 and up who said they had done the same.

Mental Health Matters | But racial differences in terms of mental health care patterns became apparent when the study authors focused on those 18 to 44 years old. Just 6.1% of younger black and Hispanic men said they experience daily anxiety or depression, compared with 8.5% of younger white men.

And younger black and Hispanic men who experienced daily depression or anxiety were less likely to have accessed mental health treatment in the prior year than their white peers (26.4% vs 45.4%).

• This racial divide was not seen among men aged 45 and up.

Health insurance status appeared to be a major factor. While no significant racial differences in the use of mental health treatment services were seen among insured men, uninsured white men between 18 and 44 with daily anxiety or depression were three times more likely to access mental health care than their uninsured black or Hispanic peers.

Depression in Men | While the survey doesn't explain this discrepancy, the authors said that in focus groups they found having health insurance coverage seemed to reduce the stigma associated with needing mental health treatment for blacks and Hispanics.

• Expansion of health insurance coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act could therefore reduce these racial and ethnic disparities, they said.

Again, this all gets back to access and education for mental health.  We as a society have a responsibility to continue our pursuit of improved methods.  Race should not get in the way to reaching out and sharing what is necessary for those who could strongly benefit from help with their mental health, everyone benefits when we show that we care.

• The survey was conducted between 2010 and 2013 nationwide and included 21,058 men according to a June data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).