Mental Health among Spanish Adults with Diabetes: Findings from a Population-Based Case–Controlled Study

Marta Lopez-Herranz,Rodrigo Jiménez-García,Zichen Ji,Ana López-De-Andrés,David Carabantes-Alarcon,José J Zamorano-León,Javier De Miguel-Diez,Clara Maestre-Miquel

doi:10.3390/ijerph18116088

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the prevalence of self-reported mental disorders, psychological distress, and psychotropic drug consumption among people with diabetes mellitus (DM) and matched non-DM controls. Methods: A case–controlled study using data from the Spanish National Health Interview Survey was conducted in 2017. We identified 2116 DM adults (aged ≥35 years). Non-DM controls were matched 1:1 by age, sex, and province of residence. Results: Prevalence of mental disorders (25.0% vs. 19.2%; p < 0.001), psychological distress (29% vs. 19.5%; p < 0.001), and consumption of psychiatric medications (29.7% vs. 23.5%; p < 0.001) among DM cases were higher than those among matched non-DM controls. The DM patient variables associated with experiencing a mental disorder, psychological distress, and consumption of psychiatric medications were: being a woman, worse self-rated health, and a visit to a psychologist within the last year. Older age (≥80 years) was associated with a lower probability of reporting mental disorders and psychological distress among DM cases. Not practicing physical exercise was significantly associated with experiencing psychological distress. Conclusions: Adults with DM included in our investigation have a significantly higher prevalence of mental disorders, psychological distress, and consumption of psychiatric medications than non-DM controls. It is necessary to implement screening strategies and psychological interventions to improve the mental health of DM patients in Spain, focusing especially on women and those aged 35 to 59 years.

Highlights

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic illness associated with an increased risk of mental disorders, the most common being anxiety and depression [1]
Disorders (25.0% vs. 19.2%; p < 0.001), psychological distress (29% vs. 19.5%; p < 0.001), As can be seen for the three variables analyzed, the prevalence among diabetes mellitus (DM) cases and consumption of psychiatric medications (29.7% vs. 23.5%; p < 0.001) among DM cases was significantly higher in all categories of most sociodemographic variables than among was higher than among matched non-DM controls
This study showed that people with DM have a higher prevalence of clinically diagnosed mental disorders, psychological distress, and consumption of psychiatric medications than subjects with the same sex, age, and province of residence without DM

Summary

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic illness associated with an increased risk of mental disorders, the most common being anxiety and depression [1]. High-quality studies, including systematic reviews, have reported a higher prevalence and incidence of mental disorders in people with DM compared with those without this condition [2,3,4,5,6]. Lin et al [5] found that people with DM have a higher risk of depression Among people with DM, mental disorders increase physical and mental impairment and are associated with a lower adherence to DM treatment, worse glycemic control, more diabetic complications, a diminished quality of life, and increased disability [4,6,7,8,9].

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