Higher Prevalence of Depression in Patients with Diabetes

Takeaway

• Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a higher prevalence of depression compared with those without diabetes.

Why this matters

• Findings highlight the need for effective chronic disease management in patients with diabetes, particularly in specialist care settings.

Study design

• UK researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 44 studies (4 for T1D, 37 for T2D and 3 for both T1D and T2D), identified through a literature search across electronic databases.

• Funding: None.

Key results

• Compared with individuals without diabetes, the prevalence of depression was significantly higher in patients with (OR; 95% CI):

  • T1D (22% vs 13%; 2.10; 1.23-3.52; P<.001; I², 78.9%); and

  • T2D (19% vs 11%; 1.76; 1.55-2.01; P=.005; I², 89.6%).

• The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in patients with diabetes in studies carried out in (OR; 95% CI):

  • specialist care (36%; 3.14; 2.12-4.63; P<.001; I², 89.7%) vs those in community or primary care (12%; 1.51; 1.35-1.70; P<.001; I², 84.8%); and

  • low- and middle-income countries (2.58; 1.91-3.50; I², 91.5%) vs countries with high income economies (1.59; 1.39-1.82; I², 87.5%).

Limitations

• Heterogeneity among studies.

• The study did not analyse the influence of other comorbidities on the association between diabetes and depression.

Farooqi A, Gillies C, Sathanapally H, Abner S, Seidu S, Davies MJ, Polonsky WH, Khunti K. A systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the prevalence of depression between people with and without Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Prim Care Diabetes. 2021 Nov 19 [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2021.11.001. PMID: 34810141 View abstract.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Pavankumar Kamat. Higher Prevalence of Depression in Patients with Diabetes - Medscape - Dec 01, 2021.