Of every 100 people with diabetes in Bangladesh, 45 have depression, and more than 95 percent of them get no treatment for it, according to research by the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (BADAS) through its BADAS-CHRI project. Researchers presented the findings at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The study ran at BIRDEM and Sylhet Diabetic and General Hospital with funding from the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, BIRDEM and ARK Foundation collaborated.
Six months after six sessions of behavioural activation therapy, participants' average depression score had fallen from 19.1 to 8.6, while the score of those on usual care fell only to 17.1. The benefit lasted up to 12 months. All participants in Sylhet and 94 percent at BIRDEM completed the six sessions.
Each session lasts 30 to 45 minutes and the six are usually done in 6 to 12 weeks, in person or by phone or online. The aim is to lead the patient out of a cycle of inactivity and negative habits and back into positive daily activity. Patients keep a diary of what they did, how it went and what they plan next.
Patients also showed less anxiety and better self-management of their diabetes. Professor Najma Siddiqi of the University of York, chief investigator of the DIADEM study, said at least 80 lakh adults in Bangladesh have depression on a conservative estimate, and some studies put it as high as 2.9 crore. The researchers urged that mental health care be built into diabetes treatment.
Photo: Erik1980 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Amar Desh
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