Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Chronic Physical Illness

This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among the patients receiving outpatient and inpatient services for chronic medical illnesses of Shree Birendra Hospital, a tertiary-level hospital. Data for the analysis was collected over four months (February - May 2021). After reviewing the hospital annual record sheet, patients diagnosed with Hypertension, DM, COPD, CKD, and Congestive Heart Disease (CHD) (the five most prevalent chronic illnesses) were included. The cases diagnosed by the treating physician of Shree Birendra Hospital and receiving medication for at least a year who could respond/ express well and give consent were eligible for participation. The patients too unwell to participate were excluded from the study.Demographic and socio-economic variables such as Gender (male/ female), residence (rural/urban), Education (Illiterate/ Literate/ Primary/ Secondary/ Higher secondary), marital status (Married/ widow/ widower), Religion (Hindu/ Buddhist/ Christian/ Others), Kuppuswamy’s score (Upper middle/ Middle-Lower middle/ Lower-Upper Lower/ Lower), physical activity (Sedentary/ Non Sedentary), sleep (Adequate/ Inadequate), substance abuse (Alcohol/ Smoking/ Both/ None/ Missing), comorbidities (Hypertension/DM/COPD/CKD/CHD/ Multiple), duration of illness (1-5 years/ 6-10 years/ 11 and above), past history of depression (Yes/ No) were included in the survey questionnaire <br><br>