The prevalence of depressive disorder among newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with co-morbid depression often experience increased morbidity and mortality. Studies in other South Asian countries have shown a high prevalence of depression in patients with newly diagnosed DM. Aims To study the prevalence of depression among newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus patients attending an outpatient clinic in Chilaw, Sri Lanka, and to study the association with socio demographic variables. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at the medical clinic of Chilaw District General Hospital from March 2012 to November 2012, to study the prevalence of depression among a group of newly diagnosed patients with type 2 DM. All patients diagnosed with type 2 DM within the previous two months were interviewed by a specialist in psychiatry. The presence of depression was established according to ICD 10 criteria. RESULTS: The study population (n=186) consisted of 116 (62%) females and 70 (38%) males with a mean age of 51 years (range 27 to 80 years). Results showed that 13.4% (95% CI 8.5 – 18.3) had mild depression while 15.6% (95% CI 10.4 – 20.8) had moderate depression. There were no cases of severe depression. The proportion of females with depressive disorder was significantly higher than males. There were no significant association between the prevalence of depression and other socio demographic variables such as age, marital status, education, employment, income, ethnicity or religion. CONCLUSION: This study shows that a quarter of the population of newly diagnosed patients with type 2 DM have depressive disorder. This finding highlights the importance of screening patients with DM for depressive disorder.