Prevalence of co-morbid depression in diabetic population

Depression is common among diabetic patients and is linked with worse outcomes. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and determinants of depression in patients with established type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods: In this cross sectional study, patients with established T2DM were examined consecutively for depression by administering the nine-item PHQ-9. A sample of 112 participants was purposively selected. Differences in characteristics between participants were tested with independent t-test at 5% significance level. Results: One hundred-twelve patients were evaluated, including 41 (36.6%) males, 71 females (63.4%). The mean age of participants was 49.5 ± 12.1 years, with the mean duration of diabetes 8. 7.3 years. Mean PHQ-9 score was 11.9 ± 6.9, with 67 cases (59.8%) achieving the diagnosis of clinically significant depression. Depression was found to be more in females (13.14 ± 6.73) as compared to males (9.97 ± 6.92, p=0.02). A positive correlation was observed between depression and duration of diabetes, whereas a weak positive correlation was noticed between depression and age. However, no significant relationship was observed between depression and type of medication (p=0.094).Conclusions: The study showed high prevalence of depression in patients with T2DM, with higher occurrence in females as compared to males. The risk factors of depression were age and duration of diabetes. (author)