To determine the value of pharmacological treatment of depression in low-income minorities with diabetes, patients in a Los Angeles County diabetes clinic were screened for depression with Whooley’s two-question tool. A total of 150 subjects answered positively to at least one question on the questionnaire. Eighty-nine depressed subjects with HbA1c levels ≥8.0% were randomly assigned to receive either sertraline or placebo for 6 months. Seventy-eight patients identified as Hispanic, 10 as African American, and one as `Other’. A total of 75 patients completed the study. At 6 months, an intention-to-treat analysis revealed significant differences from baseline for both groups in Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and pain scores, quality of life, and HbA1c and systolic blood pressure levels; the decreases from baseline in HbA1c and systolic blood pressure levels were significantly greater with sertraline. A significant correlation of 0.45 was observed between the changes in HAM-D scores and HbA1c levels in all subjects (p<10–6).
