Open AccessThe prevalence of depression and its associated factors among patients with diabetes mellitus attending a tertiary clinic in Gaborone, Botswana
Author(s) -
Thato Moshomo,
Yordanka Piña Rivera,
Judith Boshe,
Godfrey Mutashambara Rwegerera
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
south african journal of psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2078-6786
pISSN - 1608-9685
DOI - 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1647
Subject(s) - medicine , depression (economics) , diabetes mellitus , odds ratio , referral , cross sectional study , patient health questionnaire , depressive symptoms , endocrinology , family medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Background: Depression is one of the commonest co-existing medical conditions among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). A bidirectional relationship between depression and DM exists, complicating glycaemic control leading to an increase in diabetic complications. There is a dearth of information regarding the prevalence of depression and associated factors among patients with DM in Botswana.Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and associated factors among patients with DM. The study also assessed the association between depression and glycaemic control.Setting: A tertiary diabetic referral clinic in Gaborone, Botswana.Method: A sample of 260 randomly selected patients with DM was recruited in this cross-sectional study. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected using a case report form. Depression was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 scale. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine factors significantly associated with depression.Results: The mean age (standard deviation [s.d.]) of study participants was 58.4 (11.8) years, and the majority, 160/260 (61.5%), were females. The prevalence of depression was 30.4% and significantly associated with female sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 5.529, p-value = 0.004), three or more diabetes-related hospitalisations (AOR = 3.886, p-value = 0.049) and inversely associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg (AOR = 0.11, p-value = 0.001).Conclusion: Depression is a common problem among patients with DM in our setting. Routine screening of depression in diabetic patients to enable early detection and treatment is recommended.