Vol. 7, Issue 4, Part A (2024)

Background: Chronic illnesses and depression have a well-documented bidirectional link, with chronic illness increasing the likelihood of depression and depression exacerbating symptoms and hindering treatment.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of depression among chronic illnesses clinic patients.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study among patients visiting chronic illnesses clinics in Al-Kharj military-industrial corporation hospital during the period from June to September. Patients were randomly selected using a stratified random sampling. Data was collected using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).

Results: A total of 385 patients participated, more than half (56.10%) of them were females, all the participants were diabetic and almost 54% had other chronic diseases. The prevalence of mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression was as follows: 31.43%, 19.22%, 3.64%, and 0.26%, respectively. While those with no to minimal depression represented 45.45%. There were highly statistically significant associations between the prevalence of depression by severity and patient age (P value 0.004), diabetes duration (P value <0.001), and other chronic diseases (P value <0.001).

Conclusion: A remarkably high prevalence of depression was reported and there was a strong correlation between the risk of depression and chronic illnesses. Significant risk variables for depression were age, diabetes duration, and the presence of other chronic illnesses.