Patients with diabetic foot ulcers should be screened early for depression as they are twice as likely to die within five years if they are depressed, a new study suggests.
Five-year follow-up of 253 patients with their first diabetic foot ulcer found nearly a third had a depressive disorder, and nearly half of those depressed died.
The presence of minor and major depressive disorders was associated with a doubling in the likelihood of death at five years, according to the UK study published in Diabetologia.
The findings were consistent with previous studies, but were unique in showing that any depressive episode – regardless of severity –had a “long-lasting impact”, the authors said.
They suggested that the presence of an ulcer should alert clinicians of...
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