The Prevalence of Stress, Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Their Association with Demographic Factors

Aim: Psychosocial problems override in patients with type 2 diabetes than healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety in patients with type 2 diabetes as well as their association with demographic factors.
In this cross-sectional study, 201 patients with type 2 diabetes were incorporated using convenience sampling method from the Tehran-based Dornian Care Clinic. The instrument consisted of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS). The collected data were analyzed in the SPSS software (ver. 16) at the significance level of 0.05.
Findings: In this study, there were 25% male and 75% female participants, with a mean age of 47 years. In terms of education level, they had high school diploma. The prevalence rate of depression, stress and anxiety was 83.1%, 78.1% and 96%, respectively. There was no significant association between stress and age. Depression, anxiety and stress correlated significantly with education level. There was also a significant relationship between anxiety and diabetes complications. Nevertheless, there were no significant relationships between anxiety, stress and depression and the demographic factors of age, duration of diabetes and marital status.
Given the high prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety in patients with type 2 diabetes, it seems necessary to administer a screening program for mental disorders. Provision of psychiatric consultation also appears beneficial.