Characteristics of Depressed Individuals with Hypertension and/ or Diabetes Mellitus in Primary Health Care in Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Eighty percent of depressed patients in Primary Health Care (PHC) have a comorbidity. It is essential to contribute local evidence on the characteristics of patients with physical and psychiatric comorbidities to better address clinical practice. Aim: To characterize depressed patients from the cardiovascular program (PCV) of eight family health centers (CESFAM) in two communes of the Metropolitan Region. Material and methods: Secondary analysis of data from a cluster-randomized clinical trial recruiting 359 program enrollees aged 18 years or older with a Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) score greater than or equal to 15. The inclusion criteria for participants were to be 18 years of age or older, to have a score on the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) greater than or equal to 15, and to be enrolled in the cardiovascular program of the respective health center. Results: These are mainly women users of the cardiovascular program with depressive symptoms of moderate to severe intensity with a previous depressive history (60.39%), previously treated in a (75.69%). Only 17.7% were using antidepressant drugs at the time of the interview.97.1% of the interviewees were using drugs for hypertension and/or diabetes. Conclusions: These are people with depressive episode, hypertension and/or diabetes who, having a personal and family history of depression, are not receiving pharmacological treatment for depression, which probably affects their quality of life. Better adherence to clinical guidelines for the treatment of depression is required.