MA Health and Depression

In the previous blog it was mentioned how cumulative disadvantage could affect the elderly MA by placing them further into poverty. Not only is this a concern for their socioeconomic life, but for their overall health as cumulative disadvantage can affect their outlook on life. In a study conducted it was found that Mexican American showed a greater tendency to exhibit a fatalistic and nihilistic attitude and that this may contribute to limiting activities that would improve their health such as proper usage of health care. (Olson 79)  It should not be surprising that a group of people who have consistently found themselves in the poorest of conditions and the reapers of what cumulative disadvantage has to offer should become fatalistic. This fatalistic and nihilistic attitude is of tremendous importance within an aging MA community since age often comes with illnesses that may be exacerbated by such an outlook on life. In a study done on Mexican Americans suffering from diabetes, it was found that “…presence of concomitant depressive symptoms among older diabetic Mexican Americans is associated with a substantially greater health burden than is seen among diabetic individuals without depression…”. (Black 56-64) This study shows how a culture can influence the outlook of individuals and affect, negatively, how their body deals with illness. If a person is elderly, in poverty, and is also from a culture where fatalistic and nihilistic attitudes prevail, then it is reasonable to say that these people need to be assisted and educated in order to keep them from suffering needlessly, and costing themselves and the health care system more resources then may be necessary. Again education is of primary importance as it was also cited within another study of Mexican Americans with diabetes that showed that “…subjects with at least some college education had a lower incidence of diabetes than those with less than a high school education”. (Haffner)

Black, S A. "Increased health burden associated with comorbid depression in older diabetic Mexican Americans. Results from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly survey. ." Diabetes Care. 22. (1999): 56-64. Print

Haffner, MD, MPH, Steven M., , et al. "Increased Incidence of Type II Diabetes Mellitus in Mexican Americans." DIABETES CARE. 14.2 (1991): 102-07. Print.

Olson, Laura K. . Age through Ethnic Lenses. Oxford: Rowman  Littlefield, 2001. 79 Print.