Efficacy of Depression Management in an Integrated Psychiatric-Diabetes Education Clinic for Comorbid Depression and Diabetes Mellitus Types 1 and 2.

Objectives: Patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are 2 times as predisposed to developing mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), compared with patients without diabetes. Management of comorbid MDD and DM remains a challenge because patients often suffer from poor medication compliance, lifestyle factors and refractory depression. Integration of psychiatric care into diabetes education clinics (DECs) has been suggested as an effective method of managing the comorbid conditions. As this strategy is being implemented into clinical care, its effectiveness in practice warrants further research.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 24 patients (10 men and 14 women) followed by an integrated psychiatry-DEC in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, between April 2016 and July 2019 was performed. Depressive symptom severity at each appointment was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) depression rating scale.

Results: There was no significant change in PHQ-9 depression rating scale scoring between the first and most recent appointments (paired t test, p=0.356); however, patients who had improved PHQ-9 scoring were more likely to have more clinic visits (analysis of variance, p=0.0271). A significant negative correlation was found between both number of visits (Pearson coefficient, -0.56; p=0.005) and overall time the patients were followed by DEC (Pearson coefficient, -0.42; p=0.040) and PHQ-9 score changes between the first and most recent appointments. PHQ-9 change between individual appointments also displayed a positive correlation with time between appointments (Pearson coefficient, 0.26; p=0.027).

Conclusions: Regular follow up in a psychiatry-DEC service might be beneficial in managing MDD symptom severity for comorbid MDD and DM.