Abstract:
bjective:
The prevalence of diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa is rising, but its relationship to depression is
not well-characterized. This report describes depressive symptom prevalence and associations with
adherence and outcomes among patients with diabetes in a rural, resource-constrained setting.
Methods:
In the Webuye, Kenya diabetes clinic, we conducted a chart review, analyzing data including
medication adherence, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), clinic attendance, and PHQ-2 depression screening
results.
Results:
Among 253 patients, 20.9% screened positive for depression. Prevalence in females was higher
than in males; 27% vs 15% (
p
¼
0.023). Glycemic control trends were better in those screening negative;
at 24 months post-enrollment mean HbA1c was 7.5 for those screening negative and 9.5 for those
screening positive (
p
¼
0.0025). There was a nonsigni
fi
cant (
p
¼
0.269) trend toward loss to follow-up
among those screening positive.
Conclusions:
These
fi
ndings suggest that depression is common among people with diabetes in rural
western Kenya, which may profoundly impact diabetes control and treatment adherence.
Ó
2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license