Abstract
Background
Somatic complaints are a major driver of health care costs among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Some epidemiologic and clinical data suggest that Hispanic and non‐Hispanic Black patients with MDD endorse higher levels of somatic symptoms than non‐Hispanic White patients.
Methods
Somatic symptoms in 102 Hispanic, 61 non‐Hispanic Black, and 156 non‐Hispanic White patients with treatment‐naïve MDD were evaluated using the somatic symptom subscale of the Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM‐A). The other seven items of the HAM‐A comprise the psychic anxiety subscale, which was also evaluated across ethnicities.
Results
Hispanic patients reported significantly greater levels of somatic symptoms than non‐Hispanic patients, but levels of psychic anxiety symptoms did not differ by ethnicity. Levels of somatic symptoms did not significantly differ between Black and White non‐Hispanic patients. Within the Hispanic sample, somatic symptom levels were higher only among those who were evaluated in Spanish; Hispanics who spoke English showed no significant differences versus non‐Hispanics.
Conclusions
In this medically healthy sample of patients with MDD, monolingual Spanish‐speaking Hispanic patients endorsed high levels of somatic symptoms. Clinicians should be mindful that the depressive experience may manifest somatically and be judicious in determining when additional medical work‐up is warranted for somatic complaints.