Mental health care use in men with comorbid diabetes and depression: The role of age and race.

Objectives: Older adults with diabetes have double the normal average risk for depression. While women also report higher rates of depression, men are less likely than women to recognize symptoms and seek assistance for mental health treatment. Racial disparities in mental health care use among men have also been identified. While age and gender differences in mental health care use have been accounted for in adults with comorbid diabetes and depression little is known about within group differences among men. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age and race on mental health service use in a sample of men with comorbid diabetes and depression.

Methods: This study utilized secondary data from a large health care delivery system serving in a Midwestern urban city and included 335 Black, and non-Latino White men with comorbid type 2 diabetes and depression.

Results and discussion: Findings indicate that men under the age of 55 were less likely to experience a 6-month or more delay in receiving a psychiatric medication prescription after their initial depression diagnosis. Black men over 55 years of age were significantly more likely to experience a delay of over six months to receiving psychiatric medication. More research is needed to explore preferred depression treatment methods for older Black men with type 2 diabetes, in addition to any issues with access to pharmacological medications to treat depression.