Incidence, risk, and associated factors of depression in adults with physical and sensory disabilities: A nationwide population-based study

Background: Physical disability has been associated with the risk of depression. We examined the incidence, risk, and associated factors of depression in Taiwanese adults with physical/sensory disabilities. Methods: Two national databases were used to retrospectively analyze 749,491 ≥20-year-old Taiwanese with physical/sensory disabilities in 2002–2008. The incidence of depression was analyzed by univariate Poisson regression. Risk factors of depression were followed up through 2014 and examined with a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Among the study subjects, the incidence of depression was 6.29 per 1000 person-years, with 1.83 per 1000 person-years corresponding to major depression. The subjects’ depression risk was affected by disability type, disability severity, gender, age, education, marital status, aboriginal status, monthly salary, residence urbanization level, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Subjects with rare diseases, mild disability, female gender, age 35–44 years, a high school education level, divorced/widowed status, non-aboriginal status, a NT$22,801–28,800 monthly salary, a highly urbanized residence area, or a CCI≥3 were at higher risk for depression. Conclusions and implications: Adults with physical/sensory disabilities have a 3.7-fold higher incidence of depression than the general population. Social services departments and family members should take extra measures toward preventing and treating depression in this subpopulation.