The association of minor and major depression with health problem-solving and diabetes self-care activities in a clinic-based population of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aims We examined whether problem-solving and diabetes self-management behaviors differ by depression diagnosis – major depressive disorder (MDD) and minor depressive disorder (MinDD) – in adults with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods We screened a clinical sample of 702 adults with T2DM for depression, identified 52 positive and a sample of 51 negative individuals, and performed a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview. MDD (n = 24), MinDD (n = 17), and no depression (n = 62) were diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) Text Revised criteria. Health Problem-Solving Scale (HPSS) and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) questionnaires determined problem-solving and T2DM self-management skills, respectively. We compared HPSS and SDSCA scores by depression diagnosis, adjusting for age, sex, race, and diabetes duration, using linear regression. Results Total HPSS scores for MDD (β = − 4.38; p < 0.001) and MinDD (β = − 2.77; p < 0.01) were lower than no depression. Total SDSCA score for MDD (β = − 10.1; p < 0.01) was lower than for no depression, and was partially explained by total HPSS. Conclusion MinDD and MDD individuals with T2DM have impaired problem-solving ability. MDD individuals had impaired diabetes self-management, partially explained by impaired problem-solving. Future studies should assess problem-solving therapy to treat T2DM and MinDD and integrated problem-solving with diabetes self-management for those with T2DM and MDD.