Anxious-depression among Hispanic/Latinos from different backgrounds: results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Background Anxious-depression is a constellation of symptoms, frequently encountered among patients in primary care centers. There is a need to study how anxious-depression presents among Hispanic/Latinos of different backgrounds. Objective To study the construct of anxious-depression among 16,064 Hispanic/Latinos of different backgrounds participating in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. We hypothesized that Hispanic/Latinos will cluster in 3 classes: low anxiety/high depression, high anxiety/low depression and a combined anxious-depression construct. Methods Using latent profile analysis, symptoms of depression and anxiety measured by the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and 10-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were evaluated to determine if an anxious-depression typology would result. A multinomial logistic regression analysis explored the association of the 3-class solution with different Hispanic/Latino backgrounds controlling for age, gender, language, education and income. Results A 3-class mixed anxious-depression structure emerged with 10 % of Hispanic/Latinos in the high, 30 % in the moderate and 60 % in the low anxious-depression category. After adjusting for age, gender, language preference, income and education, individuals of Puerto Rican background were more likely to experience high (OR = 1.79, p < 0.05) and moderate (OR = 1.36, p < 0.05) (vs. low) anxious-depression symptomatology compared to those of Mexican background. Individuals of Central American and South American background were less likely to experience high (OR = 0.68, p < 0.05) and moderate (OR = 0.8, p < 0.05) (vs. low) anxious-depression compared to those of Mexican background. Conclusion Anxious-depression symptomatology varied among this sample of Hispanic/Latino groups. These classes should be investigated as to their relationship with different health outcomes relevant to the Hispanic/Latino of different backgrounds.