Association between Depressive Disorders and Medication Adherence among Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Teaching Hospital in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria

Background: Depressive disorder is a chronic relapsing-remitting disease that may occur as primary disorders or secondary to biological, social, or psychological conditions. Depressive disorder has significant impact on the treatment of diabetic patients and has received little attention in the management of patients. Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate the association of depressive disorders and medication adherence among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) attending endocrinology clinic in a teaching hospital in Sokoto North-western Nigeria. Methods: Three hundred and seventy subjects (370) were recruited from an endocrinology clinic of a tertiary hospital in Sokoto metropolis through a systematic sampling technique after obtaining ethical approval (NHREC/30/012/2019). For data collection, a questionnaire containing socio-demographic characteristics and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Depressive disorders and Morisky Medication adherence Scale were used. Data obtained were analysed using SPSS version 25. For categorical variables, Chi-square test was performed to check for significant association. Binary logistic regression analysis was done where necessary. Confidence interval was set at 95% and P – value was considered statistically significant at <0.05. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 49.0 ± 9.5, and the mean duration of illness was 5.9 ± 2.8 years. Majority of the participants (40.8%) were aged between 50 and 59 years and three-quarter (70.8%) were females. Majority were Hausa (80.3%) and married (80.3%). About 19.4% had only an Islamic education whereas 37.8% had a tertiary education. Most of the participants were traders (45.4%) and only 1.9% were students. Overall, 36% of the participants had varying forms of depressive disorders. Among these, a high proportion (75.9%) of the participants with recurrent depressive disorders and few 13 (14.1%) of the participants with current depressive episode demonstrated low adherence to anti-diabetic medication. Conclusion: This study highlights the high prevalence of depressive disorders and their association with poor medication adherence among patients with T2DM. Therefore, the need for routine screening for depressive disorders among patients with diabetic mellitus to enhance improve the outcome of diabetes management.