Depression among patient with sickle cell disease: prevalence and prediction

Abstract

Background: Depression is a widespread disorder with either an independent or interrelated relationship with chronic disease. Aim: This study aims to assess depression prevalence and its predictors among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Patients and Methods: This is cross‑sectional study conducted in Saudi Arabia where patients with SCD assessed for having depression through Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9). Results: Depression was evaluated among 88 patients with SCD with a median age of 32.6 ± 11.8. Out of 88 patients, 44 (50%) participants had some form of depression. Out of those with depression, 25 (56.8%) had mild depression and 18 (40.9%) had moderate depression. However, there was a significant relationship between depression and the number of annual emergency visits, intensive care unit admissions, and frequency of blood transfusion (P‑value < 0.05). There was no significant relationship between depression with neither hemoglobin nor HbS (P‑value > 0.05). However, depression score found to be inversely proportional to the HbF level. Both gender and annual emergency visits were significantly related to depression (P‑value = 0.01, 0.001. respectively). Conclusion: Depression is quite prevalent in patients with SCD though it is still being overlooked. Several clinical and laboratory indices found to be closely linked to depression. Constellations of these factors may help early recognition of depression and disease severity modulation.