Prevalence of depression and use of antidepressant pharmacotherapy among ambulatory patients with diabetes mellitus in the United States

Background: Persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) exhibit a higher rate of depressive illness than does the general US population. Despite this finding, previous research has documented a low rate of diagnosis and/or treatment with antidepressant pharmacotherapy among persons with DM.Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the current rate of diagnosis of depression and use of antidepressant pharmacotherapy among persons with DM.Results: We examined data from the 2005 US National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. In 2005, there were an estimated 35,345,845 persons with an office-based visit for DM and, of these, 3,823,508 (10.8%) had a concomitant diagnosis of depression. Within this subset, 1,830,620 (47.9%) were prescribed antidepressant pharmacotherapy.Conclusion: Our findings serve to quantify the prevalence of a diagnosis of depression and use of antidepressant pharmacotherapy for its treatment among persons with DM in the United States.