Depression among type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent older adults

INTRODUCTION: Although depression is one of the most common diseases among older people, it is still underdiagnosed due to frequent misleading symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The aims of our study were to assess depression in type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent older adults and to identify factors associated with depression among this population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study on 100 type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent elderly recruited from the outpatient endocrinology consultation during June and July 2021. We applied the geriatric assessment scores: the Geriatric Depression Scale 15-item, the KATS score, the Lawton scale. the five-word test, the Mini Nutritional Assessment and the Timed Up and Go test. RESULTS: The mean age of the population was 70.8±5.8 years with sex ratio of 0.85. Depression was noted among 57% of the patients who were distributed as follow: around one fifth (21%) had mild depression while 36% had moderate to severe depression. Around one quarter of the patients (24%) were dependent in the basic activities of daily living. Depression was significantly associated with dependency (β = 5.27; 95% CI, 1.01 to 27.35), ophthalmologic diseases (β = 8.81; 95% CI, 2.18 to 35.63), high frequency of nocturia (β = 3.71; 95% CI, 1.24 to 11.05) and high frequency of bleeding at insulin injection site (β = 4.21; 95% CI, 1.49 to 11.84). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the prevalence of depression is high among type 2 diabetic insulin-dependent older adults. Early assessment of depression’s risk factors is a major pillar of the comprehensive care of our seniors. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships.