Prevalence and factors associated with depression and suicidal ideation among people with diabetes mellitus and hypertension in Uganda

Background: Depression and suicide ideation are more common among patients with chronic physical illness including diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN). Depression is often undetected, underdiagnosed, and undertreated during routine care and may complicate into suicidal ideation in this population. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation, and associated factors among people living with DM and /or HTN in Uganda. Methods: We enrolled 512 participants and assessed depression using PHQ-9 , and suicidal ideation using item 9 of PHQ-9. We run logistic regression models to determine the factors associated with depression and suicidal ideation among those with DM only, HTN only or both. Results: The overall prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation was 22.07% and 10%, respectively. Among participants with both DM&HTN the prevalence of depression was 26.3% while 30.4% had comorbid suicidal ideation. Fear of complications (AOR = 7.21; 95% CI =2.68-19.39; p = 0.01) was significantly associated with depression. Adherence on antidiabetic medications (AOR = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.02-0.72; p = 0.02) was protective against depression. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation among patients with DM and/or HTN in Uganda is high. Keywords: Depression; suicidal ideation; diabetes mellitus; hypertension; Uganda, sub-Saharan Africa.