Original scientific paper
Screening for Depression Disorders in Patients with Chronic Somatic Illness
Igor Filipčić
Sanja Popović-Grle
Darko Marčinko
Silvio Bašić
Ljubomir Hotujac
Fadila Pavičić
Sanja Hajnšek
Izet Aganović
Abstract
Depression is one of the most common complications in patients with chronic somatic illnesses. Comorbidity of depression
with physical illness often remains unrecognized and untreated, additionally aggravating the somatic illness
itself, its treatment and prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression in chronic somatic
patients suffering from diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypothyroidism.
Patients, who were regularly attending control examinations in neurological and internal medicine out-patient departments,
were tested for the presence of depression with Beck Depression Inventory. The sample comprised 2153
chronic somatic patients aged between 18 and 80 years. Out of this total, 228 patients (10.6%) did not complete the study,
(5.12%) refused to participate, and (5.5%) of the patients were technical failures. 1925 patients completed the study, and
1383 of them were not depressive. In 542 patients (28.5%) depression was confirmed, being almost twice more frequent in
women, 346 (64%) vs. 196 (36%) male. Among these depressed examinees, mild depression was found in 284 (52.4%),
major in 186 (34.3%) and severe in 72 (13.3%) chronic somatic patients. The majority of patients were aged over 55 yrs
(49%). This population contained the largest number of depressed examinees (49.9%). The prevalence of depression with
regard to subgroups shows that (25.6%) of asthma patients were depressed, as well as (26.6%) of those with COPD. These
two groups did not present statistically significant differences regarding gender. The depression level of (32.2%) was
found in patients with diabetes, of (29.6%) in patients with epilepsy and of (24.2%) among those with hypothyroidism. As
for gender, statistically significant difference was found in the last three groups of patients (p<0.001).
Keywords
depression; chronic somatic illness; comorbidity
Hrčak ID:
27290
URI
Publication date:
4.1.2007.
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