Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics
Open Access

Abstract

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess depressive symptoms in patients with diabetic foot using center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) and investigate the association between depressive symptoms and characteristics of patients with diabetic foot. Methods: A sample of 108 patients with diabetic foot was recruited from May 2015-November 2015. The center (CES-D) was used to assess risk for depression among patients using cut-off score ≥27. Patients’ demographic data and medical history were collected using pre-structured forms. Results: Of the entire sample, 38.9% have risk for major depression according to CES-D score. Univariate analyses showed that age, gender, income, duration of DM were not associated with an increase in risk for major depression among patients with diabetic foot. On the other hand according to logistic regression analysis, retinopathy were significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms among diabetic foot patients (odds ratio 3.41(p=0.017). Being on a combination of oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin treatment was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms (odds ratio 3.38 (p=0.022). Patients with primary education level have the highest odds ratio among all factors associated with risk for major depression (OR, 4.07; p=0.003). Conclusion: The risk for major depression among patients with diabetic foot in Jordan is high compared to general diabetic population. This was associated with low educational level, retinopathy, and not taking combination of oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin. There is a need for routine screening for depression in patients with diabetic foot to help in the prevention, early detection of depression and even referral to a psychiatrist.

Biography

Email: m_alsous@asu.edu.jo