Depression in men with traumatic lower part amputation: a comparison to men with surgical lower part amputation

This study aimed at comparing the prevalence of depression among traumatic and surgical amputees and examining the relationship between depression and sociodemographic/clinical characteristics of amputees. Participants were 49 patients with traumatic lower part amputation and 35 patients with surgical lower part amputation. The diagnosis of depression in each participating patient was confirmed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Turkish version. The level of depression was assessed by using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The prevalence of depression was 34.7% in the traumatic amputee group and 51.4% in the surgical amputee group (p > 0.05). In the traumatic group, depression was associated with time since amputation but not with other variables. However, in the surgical group, depression was associated with age, education level, marital status, economic status, time since amputation, and whether the patient was treated with prosthesis. Our data indicated that depression is a common clinical condition among amputees. Clinicians may be advised to schedule periodic contacts with amputees over long periods to identify those in need of psychiatric intervention.