The prevalence of depression among patients with diabetic foot ulcers at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh,...

The prevalence rates of depression and anxiety among diabetic patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) vary from one study to the other. We aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and the associated risk factors among patients with DFU.

We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-reported questionnaire on adult patients aged 18 years old and above with DFU at our institution. We used the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms.

A total of 75 patients, 56 (74.7%) males and 19 (25.3%) females, participated in the study; 33 (44.0%) were more than 60 years old. The prevalence of moderate to severe depression among our patients was 35 (46.7%). Patients who had DFU for more than 1 year had a higher proportion of moderate to severe depression (P = 0.032). There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients who had depression according to age groups (P = 0.456), gender (P = 0.095), level of education (P = 0.145), employment (P = 0.514), type of diabetes (P = 0.561), duration of diabetes (P = 0.704), level of HbA1c (P = 0.525), smoking history (P = 0.163), and previous history of DFU (P = 0.713). Logistic regression analysis showed that patients who had DFU for more than 1 year were three times more at risk to have moderate to severe depression (P = 0.049).

Patients with DFU have a high frequency of moderate to severe depression regardless of age, gender, or other sociodemographic characteristics, with patients with long-standing DFU having triple the risk of depression as those with freshly diagnosed DFU. Diabetic persons should be thoroughly assessed to reduce the diabetes result, and preventative actions and patient education about DFU are crucial.