Abstract

Objective: To estimate the correlates of mood and anxiety disorders among rural, urban and metropolitan residents in the United States. Methods: We analyzed the National Co-morbidity Survey (NCS), which yields the distribution and correlates of psychiatric disorders in a probability sample of U.S. population using DSM-III-R for diagnosis. Logistic regressions of mood and anxiety disorders were stratified by geographical area. Results: We found gender differences in mood disorders among urban (O.R. = 1.8, P 0.0001) and metropolitan (O.R. = 1.6, P 0.0001) but not among rural residents. Rural (O.R. = 0.2, P 0.05) andurban (O.R. = 0.5, P 0.05) African Americans were less likely to report mood disorders compared to rural and urban Whites. Similarly, we found gender differences in anxiety disorders among urban (O.R. = 2.0, P 0.0001) and metropolitan (O.R. = 1.7, P 0.0001), but not among rural residents. Conclusion: Rural men reported more mood and anxiety disorders than urban men, thus erasing expected rural gender differences in these disorders. Rural male mood and anxiety disorders may be a function of diminishing resources (steady, high paying jobs) or increasing financial strain particularly among Whites, who comprise a majority of rural residents.