Depressive Symptoms among Patients in a Clinic for Sickle Cell Disease in Oman: A Cross-Sectional Study

objectives: To study the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their association with gender, age, medication use and the presence of co-morbidities among patients with sickle cell disease attending a tertiary care hospital in Oman. Methods: This is a cross sectional study of patients with sickle cell disease. All patients seen at the hematology outpatient clinic or admitted into the hematology ward at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital during the study period were invited to participate in the study. The self-administered Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) was used to screen for depressive symptoms. Results: Two hundred and ten patients attended the service during the study period and were invited to participate in the study with 123 being recruited (41 men and 82 women). The 87 who declined did so because of lack of interest in the research topic or because they were in severe pain. Thirty nine percent of those recruited had various grades of depressive symptoms based on BDI-II scores. Higher scores were reported by patients between the ages of 16-30 years old and those who were taking hydroxyurea. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms might be a common health problem for patients with sickle cell disease attending a tertiary care hospital in Oman. Further research on socio-demographic factors and the impact of depression on patients with sickle cell disease is needed.