BACKGROUND: Because of the poor quality of mental health care received by 
minorities, analyses documenting comparable response to and tolerability of 
medications for anxiety and depression in large samples of minority and majority 
populations could increase the willingness of providers and patients to use 
medications in minority populations.
METHOD: A pooled analysis of 14,875 adults who participated in 104 double-blind, 
placebo-controlled paroxetine clinical trials investigating major depression, 
panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, 
obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, or premenstrual 
dysphoric disorder from March 1984 through March 2002. An intent-to-treat 
analysis with last observation carried forward used the Clinical Global 
Impressions (CGI) scale to measure dichotomous outcome, classified as either 
response (CGI score of 1 or 2) or more complete response (CGI score of 1) ("full 
response"). Minority group differences were examined using logistic regression 
for the entire sample and repeated for those with major depression. Adverse 
events greater than 5% and twice the rate of placebo were descriptively 
tabulated. Finally, a survival analysis examined group differences in speed of 
onset of response.
RESULTS: Hispanic and Asian subjects had a slightly lower response rate, while 
Asians had the highest rates and Hispanics had the lowest rates of "full 
response." The more consistent Hispanic outcome differences appeared to be due 
to a higher placebo response rate. There was no treatment by minority group 
interaction for depressed patients. Speed of response and adverse effects were 
similar across groups.
CONCLUSIONS: There were few consistent differences in medication response and 
tolerability. These findings may serve to counteract the greater rate of 
negative attitudes toward medication use among minorities and reinforce the 
value of medications used to treat anxiety and depression in minorities.