Background

The aims of this study were to (1) compare differences in psychiatric comorbidity of depression and anxiety disorders between immigrants and native Finns and to (2) compare differences in the intensity of psychiatric care received by different immigrant groups and Finnish-born controls with depression and/or anxiety disorders.

Methods

The study uses registered-based data, which includes all immigrants living in Finland at the end of 2010 and matched Finnish-born controls. For this study, we selected individuals who had received a diagnosis of depression and/or an anxiety disorder during the follow-up (2011–2015) (immigrants n = 6542, Finnish-born controls n = 9281). We compared differences in comorbidity between the immigrants and the Finnish-born controls using chi-squared tests. Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict psychiatric treatment intensity by immigrant status, region of origin, and other background factors.

Results

In both diagnosis groups, Finnish-born participants exhibited greater comorbidity of other psychiatric disorders. Immigrants more often received lower intensity treatment and less often higher intensity treatment. These differences were most striking among those from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Limitations

We did not have the information on the perceived need for the services, which limits us from drawing further conclusions about the mechanisms behind the observed patterns.

Conclusions

Immigrants in Finland receive less intensive treatment for depression and anxiety disorders compared to the Finnish-born population. Since lower symptom levels can unlikely alone explain these differences, they could reflect a need for improvement in the psychiatric services for immigrants.

中文翻译：

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居住在芬兰的移民中的抑郁症和焦虑症：合并症和精神卫生服务的使用

背景

这项研究的目的是（1）比较移民和本地芬兰人在抑郁症和焦虑症的精神病合并症方面的差异，以及（2）比较不同移民群体和芬兰出生的抑郁症患者接受的精神病治疗强度的差异和/或焦虑症。

方法

该研究使用基于注册的数据，其中包括2010年底居住在芬兰的所有移民，以及与芬兰出生的对照匹配的数据。在本研究中，我们选择了在随访期间（2011-2015年）被诊断出患有抑郁症和/或焦虑症的个体（移民n = 6542，芬兰出生的对照组n = 9281）。我们使用卡方检验比较了移民和芬兰出生的对照者之间合并症的差异。多项逻辑回归用于通过移民身份，原籍地区和其他背景因素来预测精神科治疗的强度。

结果

在两个诊断组中，芬兰出生的参与者表现出更高的其他精神疾病合并症。移民更经常接受较低强度的治疗，而较少接受较高强度的治疗。来自东欧，中东和非洲的差异最为明显。

局限性

我们没有关于所感知的服务需求的信息，这限制了我们无法就观察到的模式背后的机制得出进一步的结论。

结论

与芬兰出生的人口相比，芬兰的移民对抑郁症和焦虑症的治疗强度较低。由于较低的症状水平不可能单独解释这些差异，因此它们可能反映出需要改善移民的精神病服务。