Endocrine Abstracts

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of depression and anxiety in adult outpatients with diabetes and identify the correlation with diabetes management behaviours and clinical outcomes.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were performed on 142 diabetic patients (type 1 diabetes n=67, type 2 diabetes n=60) attending outpatient clinic. Depression and anxiety were evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and the General Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-2). Validated survey items were used to measure patient characteristics and clinical outcomes.

Results: Prevalence of psychological symptoms was high, with 39 patients (27.3%) having a score indicative of depression as compared to <10% in the general population, and 29 (20.3%) with a score suggestive of general anxiety disorder. Regression analysis showed that anxiety and quality of life correlated strongly with depression (R²=0.59 and 0.43, respectively). At multi-variate analysis, depression and anxiety were significantly associated with higher self-reported blood glucose levels, greater number of diabetes related complications (P<0.01) and less physical activity (P<0.05). Poorer satisfaction with treatment and a lack of self-monitoring of glucose also correlated with depression (P<0.05). More than a half of the patients felt that it was very important for psychological support to be diabetes specific.

Conclusion: In our sample, patients with depression and anxiety had poorer clinical outcomes, with depressed patients also exhibiting worse diabetes management behaviours. This highlights the importance of screening for depression and anxiety in outpatient visits, which would allow for identification and management of depression, thus improving glycaemic control and overall wellbeing.