Hamilton rating scale for depression-24 (HAM-D24) as a novel predictor for diabetic microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Abstract The study was designed to investigate whether the hamilton rating scale for depression (24-items) (HAM-D 24 ) can be used to predict the diabetic microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. 288 hospitalized patients with T2DM were enrolled. Their diabetic microvascular complications including diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic peripheral neuropathy and diabetic foot as well as demographic, clinical data, blood samples and echocardiography were documented. All the enrolled patients received HAM-D 24 evaluation. The HAM-D 24 score and incidence of depression in T2DM patients with each diabetic microvascular complication were significantly higher than those in T2DM patients without each diabetic microvascular complication. After the adjustment of use of insulin and hypoglycemic drug, duration of T2DM, mean platelet volume, creatinine, albumin, fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin type A1C, left ventricular ejection fraction, respectively, HAM-D 24 score was still significantly associated with diabetic microvascular complications ( OR = 1.188–1.281, all P 24 score for the prediction of diabetic microvascular complication was 0.832 (0.761–0.902). 15 points of HAM-D 24 score was considered as the optimal cutoff with the sensitivity of 0.778 and specificity of 0.785. In summary, HAM-D 24 score may be used as a novel predictor of diabetic microvascular complications in T2DM patients.