Depression and associated factors in chronic kidney disease patients in southern Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background The most common psychological problem encountered in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is depression. However, it is often undiagnosed and undertreated in this group of patients. The prevalence of depression in pre-dialysis CKD patients and its associated factors were determined in this study Patients and methods This was a cross-sectional study that determined the prevalence of depression in pre-dialysis CKD patients using the Hamilton-Depression rating scale. Associated factors with depression were determined by logistic regression. P value less than 0.05 was taken as a significant Results A total of 250 CKD patients with a mean age of 52.3 ± 16.0 years were studied. They comprised of 116 (46.4%) males. Fifty-six (22.4%) of the study participants had depressive symptoms. Depression was significantly more common in those who were unmarried (38.3% vs. 18.7%; P= 0.002) and those whose duration of CKD was less than 6 months (26.6% vs. 15.2%; P= 0.026). Depression was significantly associated CKD stage (P=0.002). The significant factors associated with depression in the CKD patients were being unmarried (adjusted odds ratio: 2.54; confidence interval: 1.19–5.42; P= 0.02) and CKD stage (adjusted odds ratio:3.81; confidence interval: 1.50–9.83; P=0.01). Conclusion Depression is common in the pre-dialysis CKD population and its screening should be included in the evaluation and management of all pre-dialysis CKD patients.