Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Guideline-consistent antidepressant treatment patterns among veterans with diabetes and major depressive disorder.

Tiwari A, Rajan M, Miller D, Pogach L, Olfson M, Sambamoorthi U. Guideline-consistent antidepressant treatment patterns among veterans with diabetes and major depressive disorder. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.). 2008 Oct 1; 59(10):1139-47.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: This study estimated guideline-consistent antidepressant treatment of depression among veterans with diabetes and examined its variation by patient-level demographic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, access to care, and health status. METHODS: Data were retrospectively analyzed from Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Medicare claims of VHA clinic users with diabetes and major depressive disorder (N = 3,953). Major depression was identified by using ICD-9-CM codes 296.2 and 296.3. Incident episode was identified by using 120-day negative diagnosis and medication history on or before the first depression diagnosis date in fiscal year 1999. Guideline-consistent depression treatment was defined as the receipt of antidepressants for at least 90 days within a period of six months after the onset of depression. Chi square tests and logistic regressions were used to analyze patterns of guideline-consistent antidepressant treatment. RESULTS: Overall, 51% received any antidepressant treatment for diagnosed major depression; among patients using any antidepressants, 62% received guideline-consistent antidepressant treatment. VHA users who received care from a mental health specialist were more likely to have guideline-consistent treatment than those who were not receiving care from a mental health specialist. African Americans, older veterans, and those with substance use disorders were less likely to have guideline-consistent antidepressant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Guideline-consistent depression care was lower for certain subgroups of individuals. Further research is necessary to evaluate the reasons for this finding, so that targeted care coordination strategies could be developed to improve antidepressant treatment. Increased contact with mental health specialty staff, which is now being implemented in the VHA, may increase antidepressant treatment among VHA users with diabetes and major depression.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.