Diabetes, depression and employment status.

The relationship among diabetes, depression and employment status was assessed. It was hypothesized that: unemployment would be associated with diabetes; and employability problems would be associated with higher depression levels among diabetic persons than among non-diabetic persons. A case-control design was employed in which the cases (n = 56) were currently active diabetic patients and the controls (n = 56) were non-diabetic patients. Subjects were selected from a computerized data base at a primary care clinic located in Orange County, California, U.S.A. Depression was measured by the CES-D scale. The results were as follows: diabetes was associated with both depression and unemployment; being employed was the most significant predictor of depressive symptomatology followed by being diabetic; and education, type of diabetes, blood sugar level, medication type were not significant predictors of depressive symptomatology in a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Problems of employment among diabetic persons may warrant special employment and counseling programs.