Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression among Adult Type 2 Diabetic Patients at Al-Jemaih Diabetic Center, Dongola, Northern State, Sudan, 2019

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes and depression are common diseases with bidirectional associations. Depression in diabetics leads to poor adherence to diet and medication, poor glycemic control, reduced quality of life, and increased diabetes-related healthcare expenditure. This study aimed at evaluating diabetic patients with depression to improve the quality of care delivered. Materials and Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adult type 2 diabetics at Al-Jemaih Diabetic Center, Dongola, in July–December 2019A standardized pretested questionnaire was used to collect data, and the depression subscale of the Patient Health Questionnaire was used to diagnose depression. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0. Results: Out of the 407 participants, 282 (69.3%) were females, and more than half were aged between 40 and 59 years. The prevalence of depression among type 2 diabetic patients was 35.6%, ranging from mild (24.3%) to moderate (7.4%), moderately severe (2.2%), and severe depression (1.7%). The risk factors associated with depression in type 2 diabetes were: combining antidiabetic therapy, long duration of diabetes, family history of psychiatric illness, diabetes-related complications, poor glycemic control, and lack of regular exercise. Conclusion: More than a third of type 2 diabetics have depression. Screening diabetic patients for depression, establishing a psychiatric unit at the diabetic center, and community-based studies are recommended.
 Key words: diabetes mellitus, depression, Dongola, Northern State

Prevalence of depression and associated factors among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in eastern Sudan

“…The study demonstrated that 35.6% of patients with T2DM had depression. This is exactly the same to the prevalence (35.6%) of depression reported in patients with T2DM in northern Sudan [ 23 ]. The prevalence in our study was considerably lower than the prevalence of depression (44%) in patients with T2DM in Omdurman, Sudan [ 22 ].…”

“…Our study showed no significant association between gender and depression among patients with T2DM. A similar lack of association was observed among patients with T2DM in northern [ 23 ] and central Sudan [ 22 ], as well as in Malawi [ 32 ]. In contrast, gender was reported as a significant risk for depression among patients with T2DM in South Africa [ 40 ], Guinea [ 39 ], Ghana [ 19 ] and Rwanda [ 21 ].…”

“…This is a similar outcome to the non-significant association of depression and glycaemic control using fasting blood sugar as reference in patients with T2DM found in Ethiopia [ 31 , 45 ] and subjects with DM in Nigeria [ 43 ]. In contrast, a significant difference between depression and poor glycaemic control (HbA1c > 7%) among patients with DM was documented in Sudan [ 23 ], Guinea [ 39 ], Ghana [ 19 ] and South Africa [ 40 ]. It is recognised that a high level of HbA1c is a significant predictor of hippocampal volume [ 46 ], and this leads to similar neurodegenerative processes to those associated with depression [ 36 ].…”

“…Several previous studies have shown a high prevalence of depression among patients with DM in different populations in Africa [ 17 – 21 ]. However, few published data on depression and DM exist in Sudan [ 22 , 23 ]. Patients with DM and depression are vulnerable groups and deserve more effort to shed light on and establish an integrated care system for feasibly and effectively managing such complex patients.…”

“…The prevalence of depression among DM patients in Sudan was 35.6% [ 23 ], with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and 5% precision. The collected data were analysed and correlated with the demographic data of the participants to determine whether the variables significantly correlated with depression among the recruited sample.…”