Depression and type 2 diabetes mellitus: what we can learn from the Trinidad and Tobago experience.
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: In Trinidad and Tobago, a developing nation in the Caribbean, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been self-reported at 16.7%, which places it in the top six countries in the Americas. Among those with T2DM at three clinics in Trinidad, the average prevalence of depression is as high as 26.8%. Survey and audit data from the primary healthcare services have identified that the current approach to combating the T2DM epidemic has not worked. These services, although extremely successful in the ‘classical’ public health paradigm where immunisation and maternal and child health services are provided, fail in the situation of chronic disease and depression (itself a chronic disease). It is possible that our current T2DM efforts are hampered by our lack of attention to the depressive challenges faced by diabetic patients. This article provides evidence from international and regional research and argues for a shift to a greater patient-centred, rather than the current population-centred, approach to diabetes and depression in the public healthcare system in Trinidad.
Source: PubMed
Author: Rohan G Maharaj
Institution: University of the West Indies
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W103337544