Screening for depression in a diabetic outpatient population

Abstract

Depression occurs twice as often in patients with diabetes and is associated with reduced compliance with exercise, diet, and medications. It is also associated with hyperglycemia and increased diabetic complications. Despite evidence that successful treatment is associated with improved glycemic control, many cases of depression are left untreated. Objectives. (1) Evaluate a combination screening strategy in an outpatient population; and (2) explore the association between glycemic control and depressive symptomatology. Methods. Ninety-two patients completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). Patients with a PHQ-2 score ≥ 1 completed the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR₁₆). Using the QIDS-SR₁₆, a score of ≤5 corresponded to normal mood, with scores above 5 corresponding to increasing severity of depressive symptoms. Glycemic control was assessed by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Results. Using a PHQ-2 cut-off score of ≥3, 37% of the sample screened positive for major depressive disorder (MDD), with an additional 27% reporting sub-threshold symptoms. The depressed group reported significantly more difficulty with reduced interests, insomnia, concentration, self-criticism, energy/fatigue and depressed mood. In terms of glycemic control, there was a marginally significant effect for race and HbA1c. Conclusion. The combined PHQ-2 and QIDS-SR₁₆ can facilitate prompt detection of MDD and provide a means of monitoring specific symptoms and progress once treatment commences.

• Depression
• screening
• diabetes

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Anne Marie Jones, M.S., Ariell Flood, M.S., and Katrina Van deBruinhorst, M.A., who participated in screening patients for this study. Note, a brief description of the study and some of its finding were previously presented in a poster at the Future Leaders in Psychiatry Conference, 6 May 2006.