Depression, anxiety, quality of life and type D pattern among inpatients suffering from diabetic foot syndrome

Objective Compared to the population as a whole patients with diabetes mellitus suffer from a significantly higher rate of depressive symptoms, especially when they develop complications. Little is known about psychological strain in patients suffering from diabetic late complications such as the diabetic foot syndrome. In Germany the diabetic foot syndrome causes about 22000 amputations every year. The present study examines depressive symptoms, anxiety, quality of life, diabetes-related problems and type D pattern in inpatients suffering from diabetic foot syndrome, describes associations with severity of somatic symptoms, and investigates the development of psychological strain in the course of the treatment. Methods 111 inpatients with diabetic foot syndrome were given a set of questionnaires at the beginning and end of treatment. These recorded socio-demographic variables, anxiety and depression (HADS), quality of life (SF-12), diabetes-related problems (PAID) and type D pattern (DS14). 78 (70.3%) patients completed the set of questionnaires at both points of time. Results and Conclusions At the beginning of the treatment 18 % of the inpatients suffered from severe depressive symptoms, and 16.2% suffered from moderate depressive symptoms. 16.4% of the patients suffered from severe anxiety, and 24.7% suffered from moderate anxiety (HADS). The prevalence rate of the type D pattern was 33.0%. The extent of anxiety and depression was not, as had been anticipated, associated with the severity of the physical symptoms. Although the diabetic foot syndrome improved significantly in most of the patients, the extent of depressive symptoms, anxiety and diabetes-related problems remained almost the-same.