Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus show a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms when compared to healthy people, hampering the management and prognosis of both diseases. However, national studies on the topic are scarce.
Aim: To study the frequency and severity of depressive symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Material and methods: Beck Depression Inventory-IA and Morisky Green Levine scale were administered to diabetic patients under control at a primary care center. Pharmacological compliance was evaluated using glycosylated hemoglobin levels obtained from their clinical records.
Results: We included 323 patients aged 64 ± 12 years (49% women). The frequency of depressive symptoms was 34.7%. Compared with their counterparts without depressive symptoms, patients with depression showed higher glycosylated hemoglobin levels (7.2 ± 1.7 and 6.7 ± 1.3% respectively), a higher frequency of non-compliance with treatment (63 and 43% respectively) and a higher frequency of metabolic decompensation (38 and 23% respectively). Depressive symptomatology was more common among women.
Conclusions: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and depressive symptoms exhibit a poorer treatment compliance and worse metabolic control as compared to their non-depressive counterparts.