Abstract
Objectives
Several chronic intractable medical conditions are associated with depression. We sought to determine and compare the prevalence of depressive diagnoses and antidepressant use in various subsets of otolaryngology patients.
Methods
A large tertiary care, university-based, EMR database was queried. The study group included over 12,000 distinct otolaryngology patients who were analyzed in 3 groups: group 1 (tinnitus, vertigo, peripheral vertigo, positional vertigo), group 2 (chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, deviated septum), and group 3 (sleep apnea related diagnoses). The number of patients with depressive diagnosis and/or taking antidepressive medications was determined.
Results
Overall, 30% of patients either had been diagnosed with a depressive illness or took antidepressants. The prevalence of depression was 13% in Group 1, 10% in Group 2, and 14% in Group 3. The percent of patients on antidepressant medications was 21%, 15%, and 28% respectively. The primary encounter diagnosis with the highest incidence of depression and antidepressive medication use was sleep apnea with insomnia (21%, 46%).
Conclusions
Otolaryngology patients exhibited a greater prevalence of depression and antidepressant use than is observed in the general population. Highest prevalence was found in patients with inner ear disease and sleep apnea. Depression may be a cause of significant comorbidity in patients with chronic intractable otolaryngic conditions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.