Investigating the association between diabetes mellitus, depression and psychological distress in a cohort of South African teachers
Abstract
Background. Diabetes mellitus (DM) may increase the risk of depression as a result of a sense of threat of debilitating complications or because of associated lifestyle changes. Depression may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes as a result of poor health behaviours.
Objective. To determine the association between diabetes mellitus, depression and psychological distress in a cohort of South African (SA) teachers.
Methods. Teachers from 111 public schools in the Metro South District of the Cape Metropolitan area, SA, were invited to participate in this study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) were used to assess depression and psychological distress, respectively. A professional nurse completed a physical examination and collected blood for measurement of glucose, cholesterol and serum creatinine.
Results. Of the 388 teachers who completed the questionnaires, 67.5% were female and the average age was 46.2 years (standard deviation 8.7). Psychological distress was identified in 28.1% of the cohort and depression in 15.5%, and 7.7% were found to fulfil criteria for DM. A diagnosis of DM was associated with an increased risk of depression (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.90; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33 - 11.37) and psychological distress (AOR 3.62; 95% CI 1.31 - 10.00).
Conclusion. The high prevalence of obesity and DM in this cohort of SA teachers is of concern. A diagnosis of DM was strongly associated with an increased risk of depression and psychological distress.
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
