A Descriptive and Comparative Study From China On Patients With Type-2 Diabetes With and Without Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms for patients with type-2 diabetes at the population level in China and explore differences in demographic, socioeconomic, and disease-specific parameters between diabetic patients with and without depression. Self-rating depression scale was used to screen for depressive symptoms in 667 patients with type-2 diabetes from 4 communities in Beijing; their quality of life and social support was assessed using appropriate and validated tools. The results indicate that 44.23% of diabetic patients report depressive symptoms; patients with depressive symptoms had a significantly higher rate of diabetic complications, a lower quality of life and less social support than patients without depressive symptoms.

Acknowledgments

This research project was supported by grant B2009072 from Hunan Health Department, China. None of the authors have to declare a conflict of interest.