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Comorbid Chronic Illness and the Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression in Safety Net Primary Care Settings

Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA (CA, MB, DH, RB)
David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles (DB, MR)

Correspondence: Corresponding author: Mohsen Bazargan, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Research, Department of Family Medicine, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, 1731 East 120th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90059 (E-mail: mobazarg{at}cdrewu.edu)

Objective: To estimate the impact of chronic medical conditions on depression diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care in primary care settings.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study that used interviewer-administered surveys and medical record reviews. Three hundred fifteen participants were recruited from 3 public primary care clinics. Depression diagnosis, guideline-concordant treatment, and follow-up care were the primary outcomes examined in individuals with depression alone compared with individuals with depression and chronic medical conditions measured using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).

Results: Physician diagnosis of depression (32.6%), guideline-concordant depression treatment (32.7%), and guideline-concordant follow-up care (16.3%) were all low. Logistic regression analysis showed no significant difference in the likelihood of depression diagnosis, guideline-concordant treatment, or follow-up care in individuals with depression alone compared with those with both depression and chronic medical conditions. Participants with severe depression were, however, twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of depression as participants with moderate depression. In addition, participants with moderately severe and severe depression received much less appropriate follow-up care than participants with moderate depression. Among participants receiving a depression diagnosis, 74% received guideline-concordant treatment.

Conclusion: Physician depression care in primary care settings is not influenced by competing demands for care for other comorbid medical conditions.

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