The prevalence of comorbid depression among adults with diabetes in southern Iraq

Objective: symptoms of depression severe enough to warrant treatment are encountered in one of every four patients with diabetes. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of comorbid depression among sample of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) using Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in Basrah (Southern Iraq). Methodology: This was a, cross sectional case control study. It's conducted on patients with type 2 DM being monitored at the endocrinology unit of the Al-Faiha Hospital in Basrah. Results: Diabetics patients depression score 44.5 +/- 11 while that of the control was 34.4 +/- 6. Both the diabetics and control score more than 16, which is the lower threshold for diagnosis of depression according to the CES-D. If these figures applied, than almost all of our population wilt have depression according to CES-D. Conclusion: Diabetic were having higher score for depression than the control, but both group scored > 16, which mean that all of our population were depressed.