Depression Severity and Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Insights From the Framingham Risk Score Publisher Pubmed



Aliasgharzadeh S ; Lotfi Yagin N ; Namazi N ; Haji S ; Mesri Alamdari N ; Pourmoradian S ; Ghorbanverdi Z ; Mobasseri M
Source: Scientific Reports Published:2026

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Beyond physiological complications, individuals with T2DM frequently experience psychological comorbidities, with depression being one of the most prevalent. Although Framingham Risk Score (FRS) is shown to predict CVD in people without diabetes, its performance in those with T2DM who experience depression is not well established. This study examines depressive symptoms in individuals withT2DM and explores how these symptoms relate to the Framingham risk score in this group. In a cross-sectional study of 400 T2DM patients, cardiovascular disease risk was assessed using the FRS scoring system. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was applied to evaluate depressive symptoms in participants. In 400 T2DM patients, nearly half of the studied patients (49.8%) exhibited no depression, while 19.0% experienced mild depression, 21.5% had moderate depression, and 9.8% diagnosed with severe depression. There is a significant difference in depression severity distribution between the poor–controlled and well-controlled diabetes patients (p = 0.033). In 40.6% of patients, the FRS for 10-year cardiovascular disease is <10%. About 34.1% of patients had a moderate FRS (10-20%), and 25.3% were categorized as being at high risk for FRS (>20%). A significant difference in cardiovascular risk score distribution was observed between patients with poorly controlled and well-controlled diabetes (p = 0.006). According to multivariate linear regression analysis, subjects with mild, moderate, or severe depression had higher Framingham cardiovascular risk scores. A similar finding was observed for both well-controlled and poorly controlled T2DM patients. There is a potent relationship between depression severity and the 10-year CVD risk score in both well-controlled and poorly controlled T2DM patients. Healthcare providers should pay greater attention to mental health issues in T2DM patients, alongside managing their physical health. © The Author(s) 2026.