Collaborative care cuts depression with diabetes

Using a nurse case-manager-based collaborative primary care team can cut depressive symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online Oct. 14 in Diabetes Care.

Jeffrey A. Johnson, Ph.D., from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and colleagues evaluated a nurse case-manager-based collaborative primary care team model. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) score was used to screen for depression at baseline and at 12 months. Ninety-five patients were assigned to the intervention, 62 to active control, and 71 comparable patients were used as nonscreened usual-care control subjects.