Psychosocial Aspects of Diabetes in Adult Populations

Anumber of studies during the past decade have investigated the comorbidity of mental illness and diabetes. Studies that used structured diagnostic interviews found that the mean prevalence of current depression in diabetic subjects was 14.0% in controlled studies and 15.4% in uncontrolled studies. These rates are at least three times the 3%-4% prevalence of major depressive disorder found in the general adult population of the United States. Investigations that used depression symptom scales found that the range of clinically significant depression symptomatology in diabetic subjects was 21.8%-60.0% (mean, 31.6%) in controlled studies and 10.0%-28.0% (mean, 19.6%) in uncontrolled studies. These findings support an increased prevalence of depression in diabetes relative to the general adult population. Whether depression is more common in diabetes than in other chronic diseases, however, is far less supported by the literature.