TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Exploration of depressive symptoms in African American cancer patients
JO  - Journal of mental health
A1  - Zhang, Amy Y.
A1  - Gary, Faye A.
A1  - Zhu, Hui
SP  - 351
EP  - 356
VL  - 24
IS  - 6
N2  - BACKGROUND: Accurately assessing depression in African American cancer patients is difficult because of the similarities of physical symptoms observed in cancer and depression. <br><br>AIM: To identify universal and distinctive depressive symptoms in African American cancer patients. <br><br>METHODS: Seventy-four cancer patients (34 depressed and 23 non-depressed African Americans, and 17 depressed Whites) were interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted. <br><br>RESULTS: Compared to non-depressed African Americans, depressed African Americans reported irritability, social isolation, insomnia, fatigue and crying (p ≤ 0.05) more frequently over time. Compared to depressed Whites, they reported sadness, frustration and intrusive thoughts less frequently (p ≤ 0.05), but insomnia and fatigue more frequently (p ≤ 0.05) during cancer treatment. There was little racial difference at the time of interview. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Depressed African American cancer patients may benefit from more culturally sensitive depression measures that consider symptoms of irritability, social isolation and altered expressions of depressive mood.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0963-8237
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/09638237.2014.998806
ID  - ref1
ER  -