Abstract

Background: India is on the verge of a potential epidemic for Type II diabetes with the second highest diabetic population in the world. Similarly, depression and anxiety are global mental health disorders of public health importance.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between comorbid anxiety and depression with patients of Type II diabetes mellitus in an urban metropolis.
Materials and Methods: This research uses a cross-sectional study design with a sample of 100 consecutive male and female adult patients drawn from the study population of Type II diabetes mellitus patients. They were asked to complete the problem areas in diabetes scale (PAID), Patient health questionnaire-9, general anxiety disorder-7, and were clinically screened for depression. Patients’ socioeconomic status and diabetes-related health- care utilization were also assessed.
Results: The prevalence of depression and anxiety was 62% and 49%, respectively, while 39% of the subjects had comorbid anxiety and depression. There was a significant positive correlation between PAID scores and comorbid anxiety/depression (ρ = 0.663, P < 0.001), anxiety and body mass index (ρ = 0.233, P = 0.02), and physician visits and depression (ρ = 0.294, P < 0.001). The comparison between depressed (n = 62) and nondepressed (n = 38) groups revealed that depressed patients had greater diabetes care utilization.
Conclusions: This study sheds light on the association between diabetes and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression among Indian patients visiting a government hospital setting. The high prevalence of anxiety and depression in our study suggests that every diabetic patient should be screened for depression and anxiety in routine clinical practice. The study adds to the increasing evidence pointing toward the bidirectional relationship between anxiety/depression and diabetes.