Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Depression, a prevalent mental-health condition, is associated with substantial health and economic burden. While social support can improve resilience and mitigate depression symptoms, adults with depression may differ in their access to such support; accordingly, this analysis aimed to identify sociodemographic variations in perceived social support.
METHODS: Data from the 2024 US National Health and Wellness Survey, a cross-sectional nationally representative online survey of adults (aged ≥18 years), were analyzed. Participants who self-reported being diagnosed with depression by a physician were included in analyses. Patient-reported outcomes included food/financial insecurity and total, Emotional, and Instrumental subscale scores from the eight-item modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (mMOS-SS) with higher scores indicating greater social support. Outcomes were compared by age (18-25, 26-49, ≥50), sex, race (Black, white, other), and ethnicity (Hispanic, non-Hispanic) using two-sample t-tests/one-way analysis of variance tests.
RESULTS: Among adults with depression (N=15,444), most were female (64.9%), white (76.6%), and non-Hispanic (87.8%). Overall, 11.0%, 44.7%, and 44.4% were aged 18-25, 26-49, and ≥50 years, respectively. Males had lower Emotional subscale scores (56.5 vs 60.5 female), and Black or other race adults had lower total (53.9, 52.6 vs 58.9 white), Emotional, and Instrumental subscale scores (all, p<0.001); scores were similar by age and ethnicity. Adults aged 18-25 and 26-49 (40.5%, 42.6% vs 27.7% ≥50 years), Black and other race adults (47.4%, 41.3% vs 33.2% white), and Hispanics (42.2% vs 35.2% non-Hispanic) reported greater food/financial insecurity (all, p<0.001); food/financial insecurity was similar by sex.
CONCLUSIONS: Perceived social support varied by sex and race; meaningful differences were not observed by age and ethnicity. Food/financial insecurity differed by age, race, and ethnicity. Among US adults with depression, males may require additional emotional support; racial minorities may need both instrumental and emotional support. Furthermore, younger and racial-ethnic minority adults may need societal support to mitigate food/finance-related challenges.