The study on anxiety and depression in aging patients with diabetes mellitus

Objective To investigate the frequency and therapeutic effect of anxiety and depression in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) . Methods Seventy-two aging patients with DM were examined and analyzed with Zung self - rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self - rating depression scale (SDS), and the aging patients were reinterviewed after receiving medicinal (anti - anxietic drug) and psychological intervention for 8 weeks. Results Aging patients with DM had marked anxiety and - depression symptoms, and after general treatment, the scores of SAS and SDS were significantly reduced (48.37±8.79 vs 35.34±7.09 , 53.49±9. 28 vs 43.07±7.98, P < 0. 01 ) . The frequency of anxiety and depression were remarkably decreased ( 48.6% vs 22. 2%, 45.8% vs 18. 1%, P < 0. 001 ) . Conclusion The frequency of anxiety and depression in patients with DM is very high, medicinal and psychological therapy is effective and useful to the aging patients. Key words: Aging patient; Diabetes mellitus; Anxiety; Depression; Intervention