Depression As Co-Morbidity in Diagnosed Patients of Hypertension in A Rural Area of Jaipur

Abstract

Background: In spite of being a prolific killer, depression is widely undiagnosed and untreated because of stigma, lack of effective therapies and inadequate mental-health resources. Chronic diseases such as Hypertension are the leading cause of death and the most frequent focus of care in primary health centers in many developed countries. This comorbidity is associated with a higher risk of death, a decrease in the efficacy of interventions, and complications in long-term prognosis. This study was undertaken to further our understanding of relation between depression and chronic disease i.e. Hypertension.
Methodology: A community based cross sectional study was done to study depression as co-morbidity in diagnosed patients of hypertension in a rural area of Jaipur. For this study one of the larger villages, Dadiya, with a population of 6493 was selected. All the participants were subjected to PHQ-9 evaluation, for assessing depression. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 11.0 (SPSS Inc., 233 South Wacker Drive, 11th floor, Chicago, IL 60606-6412).
Results: The overall prevalence of depression among participants previously diagnosed with hypertension was 33.3% (n=90) but there was no significant association between hypertension and depression severity. Occupation and BMI (p value = 0.024 & 0.001 respectively) were found significantly associated with depression severity among the study participants. Farmers, unemployed and participants who were underweight experienced higher prevalence of depression (36.6%, 38.8% & 42.3% respectively).
Conclusion: We Conclude that the depression in hypertensive cases is a serious concern, outmost care should be taken to suspect, diagnose and address this problem promptly.