Type 2 diabetes and depressive symptoms in the adult population in Mexico: a syndemic approach based on National Health and Nutrition Survey.

Background: The syndemic approach allows the analysis of clusters of diseases that affect a population in contexts of geographic, social and economic inequalities at the same moment and time. This study aims to analyze, from a syndemic perspective, the relationship between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and depressive symptoms in Mexican adults and its association with individual, contextual and structural factors.

Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study based on secondary data from Mexico's National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018-19. The sample of this study consisted of 16 835 adults, which represented a total of 78 463 734 persons aged ≥ 20 years. Bivariate descriptive analyses were performed and logistic regression models were estimated to analyze the association between T2D and depressive symptoms with various co-variables. In addition, interactions between T2D and depressive symptoms with obesity, educational level, and socioeconomic status were tested.

Results: In the study population, 12.2% of adults aged 20 years and older self-reported having T2D, 14.7% had depressive symptoms and 2.8% had both diseases. There was a statistically significant relationship between T2D and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of T2D and depressive symptoms was higher compared to people who did not have these two conditions. Obesity increased the probability of having T2D, while violence was statistically associated with people having depressive symptoms. A low level of education increased the odds ratio of having T2D and depressive symptoms.

Conclusion: The availability of analytical frameworks such as the syndemic perspective could help to identify areas of opportunity for decision making and actions for population groups that-because of their individual, contextual and structural disadvantages-are at greater risk of experiencing poorer health outcomes due to the presence of T2D and depressive symptoms.