Depression in Type II Diabetes Mellitus Outpatients: The Effect of Gender, Glycosylated Hemoglobin and Type of Treatment

Diabetes is a chronic illness that can occur in different periods of the person's life.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of depression levels with HbA1c glycosylated hemoglobin values and gender, to determine the rate of depression in patients with type II diabetes in relation to the presence of co-morbidities and how depression is associated with the type of treatment (diet, insulin).The study involved 150 diabetic outpatients. A questionnaire consisting of two sections was used to collect the research data: (a) the Zung depression rating scale (ZDRS); and (b) the Questionnaire designed by researchers, which deals with demographic and somatometric data. In the evaluation of the association of depression with the value of glycosylated hemoglobin, the results did not show a statistically significant correlation between the two above-mentioned variables (r = 0.098, p = 0.258> 0.05).

Those on a diet had lower levels of depression (62.57) than those who did not follow a diet (77.50, p = 0.029 <0.05). Those with diabetic neuropathy experienced higher levels of depression (104.25) compared to those who did not suffer (66.81, p = 0.010 <0.05).

The presence of complications as well as the treatment seem to influence the depression variable.