High Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Ambulatory Care: an observational study

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus affects the wellbeing leading to depressive symptoms and even mental trouble like depression. Both conditions represent a high prevalence among the population. Although, it is still not frequent the investigation of mental illness during medical monitoring of diabetes. Objective: To assess the prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms in outpatients with diabetes. Method: This is an observational, quantitative, descriptive, prospective and cross-sectional study. Results: A total of 120 people answered the questionnaire. A number of 77 participants (64.2%) said that emotional issues are not addressed during diabetes follow-up appointments. Of all the participants, 45 (37.5%) of them had already received a previous diagnosis of depression. According to the PHQ-9 questionnaire, 27.5% had mild symptoms, 25% moderate symptoms and 10% severe symptoms. We did not observe a relationship between the diagnosis of depression and duration of diabetes and glycemic control. Of the patients with moderate to severe symptoms, 15 patients (36%) were unaware of the previous diagnosis of depression. Conclusion: Through this study, it was possible to conclude that patients with diabetes have a significant prevalence of depression, indicating the need for a more careful investigation during DM follow-up appointments. Additionally, it is observed that mental health is insufficiently addressed during medical visits, leading to patients living with depressive symptoms persistently, as well as a failure to diagnose.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; Complications of diabetes; Depression.