Depressive symptoms in African-American type 1 diabetics.
This study examined depressive symptoms and their correlates in African-American patients with type 1 diabetes. Five-hundred eighty-one diabetics participated in a study on risk factors for retinopathy in African-Americans with type 1 diabetes. Evaluations included structured interview, ocular examination, blood test, and completion of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Among the 581 diabetic patients, 159 (26.9%) had a BDI score > 14. Significantly more of these patients were unemployed, had less education, lower socio-economic status, and less personal and family income than those who had a BDI < or = 14. Also, significantly more patients with a BDI score > 14 had proliferative retinopathy and were receiving disability payments. In the multiple logistic regression, two factors that significantly and independently associated with the BDI score > 14 were unemployment or not working due to disability. Both socio-economic and diabetic variables are associated with depressive symptoms among African-American patients with type 1 diabetes.
Department of Veternas Affairs/New Jersey Health Care System-East Orange Campus, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
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D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors