The Significance of Disease Knowledge as a Risk Factor for Depression and Anxiety in Diabetic Patients.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that can lead to depression and anxiety disorders if it is not controlled and managed properly. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among diabetic patients and to determine whether patient knowledge is a risk factor.

METHODS: The study included 220 patients with diabetes who attended the Diabetic Care Center. Socio-demographic data on the patients was collected. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire was used to assess patients' depression and anxiety levels. The Diabetes Knowledge Test 2 was used to assess the patients' knowledge of diabetes.

RESULTS: From 220 patients with diabetes, anxiety was detected in 78.2%. From the recordings of these patients with diabetes, it was observed that 32.7%, 29.5%, and 15.9% suffered from mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively. Depression was diagnosed in 170 patients (77.2%), with the majority sowing a moderate degree (32.3%) of depression. Furthermore, 29.5% and 15.5% patients had recorded mild and severe degrees of depression, respectively. Patients' understanding of diabetes was inadequate in this study, with the majority of patients (70.5%) having a low level of overall diabetes knowledge. In terms of general knowledge of diabetes, 64.1% patients had a low knowledge level, whereas 74.5% patients had a low knowledge level related to insulin therapy.

CONCLUSION: The patients' diabetes knowledge is significantly correlated with their anxiety and depression symptoms. Patients with diabetes should be regularly screened for anxiety and depression symptoms. Our findings indicate that the educational diabetes program could be a useful intervention for reducing depression and anxiety.