UNB, Dhaka :
Patients with diabetes suffer from depression six times more than the ones without diabetes, reveals a new icddr,b study report.
During the study, icddr,b researchers and international colleagues kept the records of 591 patients with diabetes and 591 others without diabetes, matched according to age, sex and area of residence, aiming to find out whether the persons with diabetes would have higher prevalence of depression than persons without diabetes.
The other revealing facts are depression is
often unrecognised and untreated in approximately two-thirds of patients in primary care settings, and that the prevalence of both diabetes and depression are increasing in Southeast Asia, according to the report posted on the icddr,b website. The high prevalence of moderate to severe depression among the patients with diabetes confirmed findings from earlier studies conducted in Bangladesh that showed type two diabetes to be associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms.
Examining the coexistence of the two health conditions, the study called for routine screening for depression in patients with diabetes in the country. Because of the heightened commonness of the two conditions existing at the same time appropriate treatment for one could lead to lowering the risk from the other, the webpost added.
The webpost quoted Dr Shariful Islam, a senior research investigator at icddr,b as saying that screening patients with diabetes who are at high risk of developing depression should lead to appropriate treatment for lowering depression, which in turn is expected to facilitate increased medication adherence and physical activity and help improve diabetes and its complications. The study points out that the limited workforce in mental healthcare in Bangladesh makes patients with diabetes and depression less likely to receive adequate management for both conditions. The recommended routine screening thus might be a cost-effective intervention, said Dr Islam.
Patients with diabetes suffer from depression six times more than the ones without diabetes, reveals a new icddr,b study report.
During the study, icddr,b researchers and international colleagues kept the records of 591 patients with diabetes and 591 others without diabetes, matched according to age, sex and area of residence, aiming to find out whether the persons with diabetes would have higher prevalence of depression than persons without diabetes.
The other revealing facts are depression is
often unrecognised and untreated in approximately two-thirds of patients in primary care settings, and that the prevalence of both diabetes and depression are increasing in Southeast Asia, according to the report posted on the icddr,b website. The high prevalence of moderate to severe depression among the patients with diabetes confirmed findings from earlier studies conducted in Bangladesh that showed type two diabetes to be associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms.
Examining the coexistence of the two health conditions, the study called for routine screening for depression in patients with diabetes in the country. Because of the heightened commonness of the two conditions existing at the same time appropriate treatment for one could lead to lowering the risk from the other, the webpost added.
The webpost quoted Dr Shariful Islam, a senior research investigator at icddr,b as saying that screening patients with diabetes who are at high risk of developing depression should lead to appropriate treatment for lowering depression, which in turn is expected to facilitate increased medication adherence and physical activity and help improve diabetes and its complications. The study points out that the limited workforce in mental healthcare in Bangladesh makes patients with diabetes and depression less likely to receive adequate management for both conditions. The recommended routine screening thus might be a cost-effective intervention, said Dr Islam.
