Screening for Depression among Adult Diabetics Attending Primary Health Care Centers

Objectives: To find out the prevalence of depression and the associated possible risk factors among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients and Methods: A cross sectional study design was adopted at two primary healthcare centers (PHCCs) in Abha City, Saudi Arabia. Diabetic patients registered at the selected PHCCs constituted the study population. The study comprised a sample of 400 diabetic patients. Data collection included variables related to personal characteristics and diabetes-related variables, in addition to the Arabic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the results of fasting blood sugar level assessment. Results: Age of participants ranged between 18 and 88 years with a mean of 53.6±15.3 years. Most of them were males (77.2%). The majority (91.5%) belonged to type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of depression among diabetic patients was high (58%). It was mild in 30.5% of patients while it was moderate, moderately severe and severe among 20%, 5% and 2.5% of them, respectively. Female patients had five-fold higher risk for depression than males (adjusted OR = 4.88, 95% CI = 2.06-6.28). Low educational level, smoking, type 1 DM, longer duration of DM and physical inactivity were identified as risk factors for depression among diabetic patients. Conclusions: Depression is a common health problem among diabetics. Risk factors for depression among diabetics include being a female, low education, smoking, type 1 diabetes, long duration of disease and physical inactivity. Periodic psychological assessment should be a part of the clinical evaluation of diabetic patients.