The Prevalence of Depression among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in the Levant and Gulf countries

The main purpose of this paper is to shed the light on the available data on depression among patients with diabetes mellitus in the Levant and Gulf countries, as well as get better understanding on the prevalence of the co-occurrence of this double whammy and find out what other sociodemographic factors that might affect the co-occurrence. Electronic databases CINAHL, Pub Med, Google Scholar, and Medline with Full Text were searched for English language articles in peer-reviewed journals between 2005 and 2014. A total of 11 studies exploring diabetes among patients with diabetes were selected, in order to review evidence on recent research in Gulf as well as Levant countries.  Nine of the reviewed articles reported high rates of co-morbidity of depression and diabetes. Moreover, diabetic women experience a higher prevalence of depression than men. Additionally, Poor glycemic control (Hb A1c) is linked with increased depressive symptoms. Also being on insulin regimen had shown to be associated with depression among patient with diabetes. Current research suggested that the risk of developing depression is increased in people with diabetes; however, further studies in the Gulf and Levant countries are required in order to establish the nature of the relationship between depression, glycemic control and the development of diabetes complications, then to make appropriate recommendations for treatment and to support management of diabetes.