Diabetes and depression were not associated in Venezuelan adults: The EVESCAM study, a national cross-sectional sample

Background: Evidence suggests that depression is more common in patients with diabetes than in the general population. However, contradictory results expose controversy in this association. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between diabetes and depression in a national sample of Venezuelan adults. Methods: The EVESCAM was a national population-based, cross-sectional, randomized cluster sampling study, which assessed 3,454 adults from July 2014 to January 2017 (response rate of 77.3%). Diabetes was defined using fasting blood glucose and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. Depressive symptoms were determined using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: 3255 subjects were assessed. Depressive symptom score was different between genders and among age groups (p < 0.001), and similar in those subjects with or without diabetes (p = 0.899). Depressive symptoms prevalence was higher in women than in men and increased with age (p < 0.05), but was similar in those with and without diabetes (p = 0.215). Using a multivariate regression analysis model, the association of depressive symptoms and diabetes remains non-significant after adjusting for age and gender (Odds ratio = 0.98; 95% Confidence Intervals 0.95 – 1.02, p = 0.504). Conclusion: Diabetes and depression were not associated in a large sample of Venezuelan adults.