Screening for depression as part of annual diabetic review using PHQ-9 scores: a pilot study

Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of depression. Appropriate screening and treatment of depression may therefore support diabetes management in primary care. Study aim was to review the efficacy of using a Patient Health Questionnaire – (PHQ-9) tool to screen for depression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in New Zealand. It was a cross-sectional study that included 100 consecutive patients with T2DM from two urban practices in Hamilton, New Zealand. Patients were screened using PHQ-9 scores. Using the PHQ-9, the overall prevalence of depression was 29% including 11 patients under active management/prescribing for depression and 18 undiagnosed patients. By ethnicity, depression affected 41.3%, 33.0%, 25.0% and 13.3% of NZ European, Māori, Pacific and other ethnicities, respectively. PHQ-9 scoring is an easy to administer tool that can be used to screen for unrecognized depression in patients with diabetes as a part of an annual diabetic review.