Higher incidence of depression among people with diabetic retinopathy

Patients dealing with diabetic retinopathy are more prone to depression than the general population according to findings from researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Data from over 95,575 patients over the age of 18 was reviewed by a team of researchers.

4.5% of the participants had diabetic retinopathy and the research team further differentiated those patients by identifying which ones had nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The researchers found that the rate of anxiety and depression among the patients with diabetic retinopathy was higher at 21.5% and 33%, respectively compared to those in the study without diabetic retinopathy with rates of 18.7% and 20.4%, respectively.

Patients with NPDR were at a higher risk of having comorbid depression while those with PDR had a lower risk. Researchers believe that the reason for the lower rate could be that the initial diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy could lead to depression but once patients reach the PDR stage they have come to terms with the diagnosis and realize the treatments aren't as bad as they anticipated, or they may simply not seek treatment for depression.

Researchers emphasized the study results show the importance of coordinating care between eye care providers and primary care physicians to manage all aspects of the diabetic patient's health.