Association of depression and its treatment on the outcome of diabetic foot ulcer

Aim: This study aimed to assess depression symptoms among patients with diabetic foot ulcer and to compare the outcome of diabetic foot ulcer between normal participants and participants with depressive symptoms. Methodology: This prospective, observational study was conducted at Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology, after getting approval from ethics committee. Patients who were attending the foot clinic were invited to participate in the study. Diabetic foot ulcers were classified according to the University of Texas classification criteria. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Both groups were given standard diabetes and foot care treatment. In addition, antidepressant treatment was given to the participants with depressive symptoms for 3 months. After 3 months, PHQ-9 was again administered to the participants with depressive symptoms, and the outcome of foot ulcer was noted and compared to baseline data. Results: Of the total participants ( n = 105), nearly half of them were found to have depressive symptoms ( n = 53, 50.4%). At baseline, no significant difference was found in the distribution of hypertension, history of smoking and duration, grading and type of ulcers between normal participants and participants with depressive symptoms. Three months of antidepressant treatment brought significant improvement in the mean depression score ( P ≤ 0.05). After 3 months, healing time of ulcers, rate of minor and major amputations, patients on treatment and patients who lost to follow-up were comparable between the groups. Conclusions: In this study, every second patient with diabetic foot ulcer was found to have depressive symptoms. Anti-depressive treatment alleviated depression and made foot ulcer outcome comparable to non-depressed patients.