815 Prevalence of Depression in African American Patients With a Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Findings From a Large Safety Net Outpatient Center

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability and morbidity in the United States. Multiple observational studies have demonstrated an increased prevalence of MDD in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with an associated increased morbidity. Compared with other ethnic groups African Americans are more likely to be depressed. No major studies have examined the prevalence of depression in AA with IBD. METHODS: Hypothesis/Objective: • To determine the prevalence of depression in AA with IBD. • AA with IBD will have a higher prevalence of depression. We retrieved electronic medical records from one of the outpatient departments of a large safety net hospital between November 2017, and March 2018. African American Patients with a diagnosis of IBD were identified and electronic medical records were reviewed. Data regarding screening with PHQ-9 score was obtained, depression was defined by PHQ-9 score >5. MS excel was used to determine the prevalence of depression while stratified analysis was used to determine the effects of age, sex, co-morbidites and marital status on depression. Two-sided P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 157 AA patients were included in the study, out of which 125 (79.5%)AA patients with IBD were screened for depression with the PHQ-9 score. Mean age of the sample was 47 +/- 14 years, 56% (n = 70) were females while 44% (n = 55) were males. Depression was present in 8.8% (n = 11/125) of the study population. Out of the 11 depressed patients 72.9% (n = 8) were mild, 9.1% (n = 1) moderate and 18.2% (n = 2) were severe. Male and female show no statistically significant difference in the level of depression (P > 0.05). There was no association between depression and asthma, COPD, kidney diseases, CAD, diabetes mellitus and hypertension (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis, our study revealed that depression rate in AA with IBD is comparable to that of the general population which has been reported to be about 7%. Further studies will look to identify the clinical, sociodemographic and system level contributors to depression in patients with IBD at our center. Our study also revealed that our center has a good depression screening rate in IBD patients in accordance with national guidelines.