Treating Depression in Diabetics: Cost-Effective?

A study in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry examined the cost-effectiveness of systematic depression treatment in diabetic outpatients. 329 adults with both diabetes and depression were identified and assigned to either a 12-month depression treatment program (consisting of either psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy) or a control group receiving “usual care.” After 2 years, intervention patients had experienced a mean 61 more depression-free days than control patients, and their outpatient health care costs totaled, on average, $314 less per patient. http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/64/1/65