Depression and its associated factors among patients with diabetes: A cross-sectional survey at Mnazi Mmoja Referral Hospital in Zanzibar, Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Depression is one of the mental illnesses that cause disability worldwide, and is a significant contributor to the global burden of diseases. Although depression is reported among patients with diabetes in high-income countries, it remains undetected or undiagnosed in low and middle-income countries. This article describes the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among patients with diabetes in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was conducted at Mnazi Mmoja Referral Hospital (MMRH). A simple random sampling method was used to select the potential participants. Depressive symptoms were assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9). Data were coded and analyzed using SPSS 23.0. A Chi-square test was performed to obtain the association between depression and socio-demographic, medical and psychological factors. A P-value of <0.05 with a 95% confidence interval was used to determine the significant associations between the variables. Also, multiple logistic regression was performed with the factors with P-value <0.2 to ascertain the confounding factors. RESULTS: A total of 267 patients with diabetes responded to the questionnaire of which 142 (53.2%) were males. The mean age of participants was 50 years and a standard deviation of ±14. The overall prevalence of depression in this study was 73%. The specific type of depression among diabetic patients varied from severe (8%) to mild depression (30%). Respondents who had difficulties in adhering to the treatment regimen (AOR = 5.7: 95% CI, 2.11–15.18, p = 0.001), feeling angry or stressed (AOR = 4.4: 95% CI, 2.44–8.10, p<0.001), and had diabetic retinopathy (AOR = 2.8: 95% CI, 1.45–5.28, p = 0.002) had symptoms of depression. Furthermore, respondents who had diabetic foot ulcers (AOR = 0.1: 95% CI, 0.04–0.49, p = 0.003) and impotence for male patients (AOR = 0.4: 95% CI, 0.20–0.68, p = 0.002) were 0.1 and 0.4 times less likely to have depression respectively. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients with diabetes have symptoms of depression. Adherence to the treatment regimen, diabetic retinopathy, feeling angry or stressed, impotence and diabetic foot ulcer were associated with depression. Thus, early screening of depression among patients with diabetes is crucial to enhance self-management and good health outcomes.