Bipolar disorder — a mental health condition characterized by periods of extreme highs (mania) and deep lows (depression) — affects 2.8 percent of U.S. adults. While marginalized racial and ethnic communities, such as Black and Hispanic-Latinx people, are no less likely to experience bipolar disorder than white people, research shows that these communities are not adequately diagnosed and treated for it compared with white people.
“Either their symptoms or presenting concerns are minimized, and they are not given any care, or they are given a completely different diagnosis and one where the treatment can be detrimental to the progress they need,” says Taish Malone, PhD, a licensed professional counselor with Mindpath Health in Fort Worth, Texas.
For instance, people of African descent with bipolar disorder are more likely to receive an incorrect diagnosis than people of European ancestry with the condition, according to an article published in September 2018 in Bipolar Disorders. And Hispanic people with bipolar disorder are less likely to get the treatment they need than white people with the condition, per a small study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
These disparities have many cultural and societal causes, likely requiring multifaceted solutions. Here’s what researchers know so far about racial and ethnic diagnostic and treatment inequities in bipolar disorder — and ways to solve the problem.
Read more at EverydayHealth.com.
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