Course of screening-based depression in young adults with a long type 1 diabetes duration: Prevalence and transition probabilities - A cohort study

Abstract

Aims: To extend the current knowledge of the prevalence and course of screening-based depression (SBD) and its predictors in emerging adults with a long type 1 diabetes duration.

Methods: A total of 487 young adults (64.7% women, mean age 24.0 years) who participated in a nationwide cohort study provided data on SBD (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score ≥ 10). We estimated the overall and age- and sex-specific prevalence of SBD, identified the associated covariates, and determined the transition probabilities between SBD states using adjusted first-order Markov transition models.

Results: The prevalence of SBD was 17.7% in women and 7.0% in men. A total of 70.4% (95%-CI 57.4%; 80.8%) of the participants with SBD at the first screening still had SBD at the three-year follow-up. Of the subjects without SBD at baseline, 6.9% (4.9%; 9.8%) had SBD at follow-up. The main predictor of current SBD was previous SBD (OR 39.0 (15.4; 98.6)), followed by living in one's own or in a shared apartment vs. living with both parents (OR: 2.75 (1.03; 7.36)).

Conclusions: Using an innovative analytical approach, emerging adults with a long diabetes duration demonstrated a moderate rate of incident SBD but a high rate of persistent SBD.

Keywords: Cohort study; Depression; Depression symptoms; Longitudinal; Screening; Type 1 diabetes mellitus; Young adults.