Prevalence of Depression Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes at King Abdullah Medical City

Introduction Diabetes is one of the most common endocrine diseases worldwide. Type 2 diabetes and depression are commonly comorbid, high-prevalence, chronic disorders. Individuals with diabetes mellitus may have concurrent mental health disorders and are shown to have poorer disease outcomes. However, the evidence for clinical correlation is still unclear. Objectives To find the prevalence of depression among patients with type 2 diabetes at King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC). Materials and methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at KAMC in Makkah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Study participants were 267 people with type 2 diabetes (aged between 18-70 years). Those who had preexisting depression or drank alcohol, pregnant women, and postpartum women were excluded from the study. Participants’ clinical and demographic data and depression assessment were obtained on phone through an interview and using the Arabic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), respectively. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test results of participants were collected electronically. Results The participants’ mean age was 57.88 ± 8.71 years, and 64.4% were males. Only 15.4% were current smokers and 16.9% were ex-smokers. The most common medical condition was hypertension (65.2%) and the majority (92.1%) had uncontrolled HbA1c with a mean value of 8.37 ± 1.92. Among the studied patients, 73% suffered from different degrees of depression; 36%, 19.9%, 8.6%, 5.2%, and 3.4% of the participants were suffering from minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression, respectively. Only neuropathy was a significant risk factor of depression (odds ratio=2.87, 95% confidence interval=1.18-6.97, p=0.02). Conclusion Depressive symptoms are common in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes who also suffer from neuropathy and retinopathy. Hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and unhealthy diet had a significant correlation with depression.