Prevalence and predictors of depression in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multifactorial disease and can be described as a noncommunicable disease of epidemic magnitude. Little is known about the predictors of depression in this population, especially among the Indian population. This study explores the predictors for depression in patients with type 2 DM.

A cross-sectional study was performed for a period of 7 months during 2018-2019. The data were collected from 250 subjects at the diabetic clinic and psychiatry outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. T2DM with an age group of 18-60 years were included. Exclusion criteria were clinical evidence of any significant Axis I psychiatric disorder according to the International Classification of Diseases-10 Diagnostic Criteria for Research other than depression and substance use disorders. Data were analyzed with multiple linear regression analysis using SPSS-23 version.

Male and female patients were 127 (50.80%) and 123 (49.20%), respectively. The prevalence of depression was 49.20% among 250 patients with T2DM. Female patients had higher depression than male patients. We found age (P = 0.013), female gender (P = 0.041), locality of the patient (P = 0.021), body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.018), and fasting blood sugar (FBS) (P = 0.045) as significant predictors of depression among T2DM patients.

The study concludes that females and elderly patients were more affected by depression. The predictors of depression were age, gender, locality, BMI, and FBS among diabetic patients. The findings indicate to screen the patients of T2DM for depression, predominantly female and elderly patients, at regular intervals as per clinical demand.