A Descriptive and Comparative Study of the Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders in Low-Income Adults With Type 2 Diabetes and Other Chronic Illnesses
- Janet Thomas, PHD1,
- Glenn Jones, PHD2,
- Isabel Scarinci, PHD3 and
- Phillip Brantley, PHD4
- 1Mayo Clinic, Nicotine Dependence Center, Rochester, Minnesota
- 2Louisiana State University Medical Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- 3University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
- 4Louisiana State University, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Janet Thomas, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Nicotine Dependence Center, 200 First St., SW, Rochester, MN 55905. E-mail: thomas.janet{at}mayo.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—To determine whether type 2 diabetes contributes to the presence of depressive and anxiety disorder diagnoses in low-income adults with hypertension, asthma, and/or arthritis.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Using a cross-sectional design, this study administered a structured diagnostic interview to low-income primary care patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and asthma, as well as to those with no chronic illness (n = 326), to determine the 12-month prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders. A logistic regression (LR) model was used to assess whether a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety was associated with type 2 diabetes after adjusting for known risk factors.
RESULTS—A high prevalence rate of depressive and/or anxiety disorders was found in the total sample (29%) and in all three illness groups: type 2 diabetes (36%), other chronic illnesses (24%), and no chronic illness (31%). Using LR, a main effect was detected for illness group when age and education were controlled (χ2 = 22.66, df 4, P = 0.000). Specifically, the odds of occurrence of a depressive and/or anxiety disorder in those with comorbid type 2 diabetes were twice that in the nondiabetic, chronically ill comparison group (odds ratio 2.26, 95% CI 1.28–4.01, P = 0.005).
CONCLUSIONS—These results suggest a positive contribution of type 2 diabetes to increased rates of depressive and/or anxiety disorders in patients with hypertension, asthma, and/or arthritis and support prior research that type 2 diabetes may serve as an indicator of depression and anxiety in low-income adults treated in primary care clinics.
- DIS-IV, Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV
- DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV
- LR, logistic regression
Footnotes
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A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.
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- Accepted April 16, 2003.
- Received February 18, 2002.
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