Chima CC, et al. – Clinicians applied data from the largest all–payer, nationally–representative inpatient database in the US to estimate the prevalence, temporal trends, and risk factors for comorbid depression among adult diabetic inpatients. The frequency of comorbid depression among diabetic inpatients in the US is increasing rapidly. Increased awareness and likelihood of diagnosis of comorbid depression by physicians and better documentation as a result of the increased adoption of electronic health records likely contributed to this trend, while some portion of this increase could be explained by the rising prevalence of multimorbidity.

Methods

• Researchers performed a retrospective analysis applying the 2002–2014 Nationwide Inpatient Sample databases.
• They distinguished depression and other comorbidities applying ICD–9–CM codes.
• They applied logistic regression to assess the correlation between patient characteristics and depression.

Results

• It was showed that the rate of depression among patients with type 2 diabetes increased from 7.6% in 2002 to 15.4% in 2014, while for type 1 diabetes the rate increased from 8.7% in 2002 to 19.6% in 2014.
• They found highest rates of depression among females, non–Hispanic whites, younger patients, and patients with five or more chronic comorbidities.