South Asian and Middle Eastern American Older Adults: Dementia, Mood Disorders, and Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

In this review, we discuss topics associated with dementia and mood and anxiety disorders among South Asian and Middle Eastern American older adults. These two groups have been seriously understudied in the fields of both mental health and dementia despite the fact that they represent two of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. First, we present existing research results regarding the prevalence of these disorders and note gaps in the research. Second, we discuss culture-specific findings pertaining to psychometric, psychodiagnostic, and psychotherapeutic considerations that incorporate contextual factors, such as beliefs, language, family, religion, acculturation, war trauma, and discrimination. We conclude with the following recommendations: to design population-based studies to obtain consistent prevalence data and ascertain the epidemiologic burden of these disorders; test measurement invariance and validate psychodiagnostic measures; and conduct research to test the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions and outreach efforts.