PSYCH, DRUG PROBLEMS COMMON IN US YOUTH: STUDY

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than 60% of 19- to 21-year-olds in South
Florida have experienced depression, alcohol dependence or some other
psychiatric or substance use problem, according to the results of a new
study. African-American youth, however, were at lower risk for such
disorders than their white peers, researchers report.

"Psychiatric and substance use disorders are not rare in our society, even
among relatively young individuals," study author Dr. R. Jay Turner,
director of the Life Course and Health Research Center at Florida
International University in Miami, told Reuters Health.

"The documented presence of psychiatric and substance disorders in middle
and high school populations emphasizes the importance of prevention efforts
in school settings," write Turner and co-author Dr. Andres G. Gil.

Young adults who reported psychiatric or substance use problems often had
their first symptoms during their preteen and early teen years, the
researchers note.

Turner and Gil investigated the prevalence of psychiatric and substance-use
disorders among 1,803 young South Florida residents. They also assessed
prevalence rates according to study participants' ethnicity. The youth were
classified as white non-Hispanic, African American, Cuban, or other
Hispanic, meaning individuals from other Caribbean countries, excluding
Puerto Rico.

Overall, 6 out every 10 youths interviewed reported having experienced
symptoms that satisfied the criteria for one or more psychiatric or
substance use disorder, such as major depression, generalized anxiety
disorder, and alcohol or drug abuse and dependence, at some point in their
lives.

Furthermore, nearly 40% reported that they had these symptoms during the
year before they were interviewed for the study, Turner and Gil report in
the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

Childhood conduct disorder, major depressive disorder and alcohol abuse
were the most common disorders reported.

Women and men had a fairly similar rate of overall disorders, the report
indicates. But women had higher rates of anxiety disorders and affective
disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, while men had
significantly higher rates of childhood conduct disorder, antisocial
personality and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

African Americans had a substantially lower risk of any disorder, including
substance abuse or dependence, than their white peers, an interesting
finding considering their "over-representation in jails, etc. for such
problems," Turner said. However, African Americans had a higher prevalence
of post-traumatic stress disorder, as did US-born Hispanics from the
Caribbean, the researchers note.

In general, the prevalence of psychiatric and substance use disorders was
lower among Hispanic immigrants than among their American-born peers, even
when both groups were from the same community and ethnic group, the
investigators found. For example, Caribbean Hispanic youth who were born in
the US had a higher rate of substance use disorders, conduct disorder and
ADHD than their foreign-born peers.

"This suggests that those who may bring non-American cultures and practices
(from their native land to America)...appear to be more protected than are
people who are more involved in American culture," Turner said.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda,
Maryland.