Effectiveness of Collaborative Care for Depression and HbA1c in Patients with Depression and Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Aim: The collaborative care (CC) is emerging as an effective method in treating patients with multimorbidity, but evidence whether this model is effective for people with comorbid depression and diabetes is unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether CC could improve depression outcomes and HbA1c in patients with depressive symptoms and diabetes, and assess its effects on Quality of Life (QoL).

Method: The author searched Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane, PsycINFO and CINAHL to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster RCTs published up to October 21, 2020. Studies were required to assess CC in patients with depressive symptoms and diabetes. The primary outcomes were depression treatment response rate and HbA1c and secondary outcome was Quality of Life (QoL). Available individual patient data was collected from all eligible studies. Studies were independently screened by two reviewers and critically appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, and the fixed effects and random effects model were used to pool Relative Risks (RRs) and Standard Mean Differences (SMDs).

Results: Our research identified 7906 articles, and finally 12 RCTs were included. Study sample sizes ranged from 58 to 417. The total follow-up period ranged from 12 weeks to 24 months. At follow-up, depression treatment response rate had a significant increase (RR = 1·31, 95% CI 1·23 to 1·39, I² = 0%) in CC patients compared to controls. There was no statistically significant difference in HbA1c between CC group and the control group (SMD = 0·15, 95% CI -0·35 to 0·65, I² = 97·6%). Overall QoL at follow-up was greater (SMD = 0·12, 95% CI 0·03 to 0·21, I² = 54·2%) in CC patients compared to controls but the difference was minor.

Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis supported the effectiveness of CC in reducing depression and improving QoL in people with comorbid depression and diabetes.