Evaluation of anxiety and depression in patients who applied to a family health center with diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension: A cross sectional study

Purpose: Chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension cause functional deterioration of various organs with time. Psychiatric illnesses also emerge during these processes. In this study we aim to determine the risk and degree of anxiety and depression in patients who applied to a family health center with diabetes and/or hypertension and to seek associations of these entities with various independent variables. Material and Methods: This study was conducted between 01 October 2018 and 01 February 2019. Using face to face interview, socioeconomic data questionnaire, Beck depression inventory and Beck anxiety inventory were applied to 330 patients with diabetes and/or hypertension who were admitted to Corum Central Hasanpaşa Family Health Center. Patients were divided into three groups as they had only diabetes, only hypertension or both. Results: Two-hundred and twenty-six of all patients included in the study was female whereas 104 of them were male. Mean age was 53.69±7.24. Sixty-six patients had the diagnosis of diabetes, 181 had hypertension and 83 had both. Anxiety disorder was detected in 42.4% of the diabetes group, 32.5% of the hypertension group and 40.9% of hypertension plus diabetes group whereas depression disorder was detected in 31.8% of the diabetes group, 28.7% of the hypertension group and 32.5% of hypertension plus diabetes group. Distribution of age, level of education and frequency of physical exercise were significantly different in all groups (p<0.05). Anxiety disorder was significantly more frequent in diabetes patients compared to those with hypertension. It was also more frequent in females compared to males in all groups (p<0.05). All of the groups assessment regarding the disease duration showed that patients with hypertension had increased depression scores within the first year and after the tenth year of the disease (p<0.05). Conclusion: Patients with diabetes and/or hypertension have to be treated with patient centered clinical methods and, patients should be assessed as whole. Treatment should cover not only the physical deterioration but physiological and social aspects at the same time.