Testing for Differences in the Reporting of Somatic Symptoms of Depression in Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Abstract

We tested if Latinx and Black individuals are more likely to somaticize depression compared with their White counterparts. We analyzed 14,745 depression ratings from 4,101 people living with HIV from 2007 to 2014. We calculated the percentage of each depression score accounted for by somatic symptom items (e.g., feeling tired). We analyzed depression scores using generalized estimation equations, which accounts for repeated measures within each person. Somatic symptoms accounted for 70% of depression scores for White patients, 66% for Latinx patients, and 68% for Black patients. Across the 14,745 assessments, adjusting for age and sex, and within-person correlation, the percentage of the depression scores made up of somatic items was lower for Latinx (b = −.03, p