A Study of Prevalence of Depression in Diabetes Mellitus: Analysis from Urban India.

ABSTRACT

Background: The chronic debilitating conditions, i.e., diabetes and depression are associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Both these interlinked chronic conditions contribute to their worst outcomes. Aims: The objective of the present study was to analyze the frequency of depression in diabetes and its correlation with demographic details like age, sex, domicile, education, income, and marital status. Settings and Design: The study was conducted in the private diabetic clinic in outer Delhi (Rohini). Subjects and Methods: Totally, 250 patients attending the outpatient department of private diabetic clinic were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory Scale which was a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory. Results: Among the study population, 11.6% of the patients had co-morbid depression with more prevalence in females when compared with males. The demographic analysis revealed that depression incidence was higher in urban population, lower socio-economic class, and in patients with diabetes more than 5 years when compared with their counterparts and similar in graduate and undergraduate student population. Interestingly, the numbers of depression cases were found only in married population contrary to none in unmarried category. Conclusion: Present study concluded that co-morbidity of depression is prevalent in diabetic population with three times higher frequency than the considered feature of mild depression.