ATLANTA, June 12 (UPI) -- Nearly one in ten men in the United States experience some form of depression or anxiety, however less than half of them get treatment, according to a new study.
Among men who experience either depression or anxiety, black and Hispanic men were less likely than white men to either report mental health concerns or treat them if they report them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found.
"We suspect that there are several social and cultural pressures that lead black and Hispanic men to be less likely than white men to seek mental health treatments," Stephen Blumberg, an associate director for science with the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, told HealthDay.
"These pressures, which include ideas about masculinity and the stigma of mental illness, may be more pronounced for men of color," he said. "And these same forces may lead men of color to be more likely to deny or hide feelings of anxiety or depression."
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Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics, or NCHS, reviewed data collected in a poll of 21,000 men, finding that 8.5 percent had daily feelings of depression or anxiety, yet only 41 percent of those men took medication or sought treatment for the conditions.
Among men aged 18 to 44, black and Hispanic men were 30 percent less likely to experience depression or anxiety, however they were 7 percent less likely to seek treatment than non-Hispanic white men who experienced either one.
Researchers blame the disparities on cultural differences of masculinity and stigma of mental illness, as well as economic factors such as access to mental health care or having health insurance.
