Fitness Blog
Chicken or the egg? Diabetes or depression?
Wed Aug 6 2008A new study has shown that, just as people with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk of developing depression, those suffering depression also have an increased risk of developing diabetes.
Dr Stuart Weiss, assistant clinical professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, said, 'Doctors should have their sensitivity increased toward picking up on the potential for more of their diabetes patients and more of their depression patients having susceptibility to the other disorder'.
Although the link between type 2 diabetes and depression has been long established, the question of which comes first – or which leads to which – has not been conclusively proved. The study's lead author, Dr Sherita Hill Golden, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said, 'There have been studies that show people with diabetes are twice as likely to have symptoms of depression as those who don't, and it could either be because depression itself leads to the development of type 2 diabetes or it could be that having diabetes leads to the development of depression', she continued; 'There are several studies showing that depression and depressive symptoms lead to the development of type 2 diabetes, but only a couple of studies showing that diabetes itself leads to depression. We wanted to look to see whether or not we could tease out the chicken-and-egg situation'.
The study analysed information from participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis trial. Data from the trial subjects linked treated type 2 diabetes with a 54 per cent heightened risk of developing symptoms of depression, whereas those with untreated diabetes displayed no heightened risk of developing depressive symptoms. The reason for this surprising result was unclear, but the study authors speculated that the monitoring involved with the treatment of diabetes could somehow contribute to depression.
The study also found that increased levels of depressive symptoms were linked with a 42 per cent greater chance of developing diabetes during the follow-up period. The more acute the symptoms of depression were, the greater the chance of developing diabetes. Even after allowing for factors such as overweight, smoking, and sedentary lifestyles, the diabetes risk was still 34 per cent higher in depressed subjects.
Golden said, 'Those with depression are more likely to consume more calories, be less physically active and are more likely to smoke, so they just have poor overall health behaviours in general. That seems to be one component of treating depression that needs to be addressed'.
'For people who are being treated for symptoms of depression, it's important also to think about some treatment modalities that can also help them adopt healthy behaviours. And certainly among people who have treated diabetes and who are at risk of developing depression, we need to be aware of that increased risk' Golden concluded.
Source: HealthDay News
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