ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of depression in Filipino adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and the risk factors associated in its development.METHODS: This is a prospective cross-sectional study. Adult patients (age 19 and above) with type 2 DM being seen at the outpatient department of the Makati Medical Center from January to March 2015 were included, taking into account the following: age, gender, marital status, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, duration of diabetes, presence of other co-morbid illnesses, pill burden, insulin use, educational attainment, employment status, family income, and glycemic status. They were then screened for depression using the standardized PHQ-9 questionnaire. Bivariate analyses through Chi-square Test (for categorical variables) and Analysis of Variance (for interval/ratio variables) were used to determine which among the risk factors are significant for the development of depression. Significant risk factors were treated for multivariate and univariate analyses through ordinal logistic regression.RESULTS: A total of 110 adult patients with type 2 DM were enrolled in this study. There were no drop-outs. Sixty-nine percent of the patients had none to minimal depression, 24% had mild depression, and 7% had moderate depression. None of the patients had depression that warranted anti-depressants or psychotherapy. After step-wise analysis, increased BMI, elevated diastolic blood pressure and uncontrolled blood sugar were found to be associated with higher PHQ-9 scores while unemployment was associated with decreased PHQ-9 score.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depression among Filipino type 2 diabetic patients is higher than in non-diabetic patients. Being obese, having an elevated diastolic blood pressure, and the presence of uncontrolled blood sugar were significant predictors and were associated with an increased likelihood of developing major depressive disorder. Being unemployed appears to have the opposite effect.