Depression and diabetes may be linked, according to new research in the Archives of Internal Medicine in year 2010.
People usually think of these as two isolated problems, but there is certainly growing evidence that they are linked behaviorally and biologically. This data presents strong proof that we should not consider these two isolated conditions any longer.
About 23.5 million Americans have diabetes, and about 14.8 million Americans have major depressive disorder in a given year, according to statistics in the new report.
Of the 65,381 women aged 50 to 75 in 1996 who were study participants, 2,844 women were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and 7,415 women developed depression in the ensuing 10 years.
Depression and Diabetes Risk
Depression increased the risk for diabetes, and diabetes increased the chance for depression, the study shows. Especially, females who were depressed were more likely to develop diabetes even after adjusting for other risk factors such as bodyweight and lack of regular exercise. Controlling diabetes help improve depression by improving the overall function and wellbeing of a person. Treatment of depression helps motivate a person to take charge of their diabetes.
Those women who were taking antidepressants were 25% more likely to develop diabetes than their counterparts that were not depressed, the study shows.
Women with diabetes were 29% more likely to develop depression after taking into account other depression risk factors, and those women who took insulin for their diabetes were 53% more likely to develop depression during the 10-year study.
While certain factors such as physical activity and body mass index may partially explain the link between depression and diabetes, they do not fully explain the connection.
The common denominator may be stress.
People who are depressed have elevated levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which can lead to problems with glucose or blood sugar metabolism, increased insulin resistance, and the accumulation of belly fat, all diabetes risk factors.
However, there are long-term stress and strain related to diabetes management such as blood sugar control and treatment for complications, and this can lead to decreased quality of life and increased probability of depression.
Diabetes and depression are both frequent diseases. Diabetes can make depression worse because diabetes is a chronic illness with a lot of worries. So much of the treatment for diabetes is self-care, and people who are depressed may not take good care of themselves. They don’t exercise as much and may have issues in terms of watching their diet, checking their blood sugar, and taking medications.
Certain medications used to treat depression can also increase the risk for developing diabetes,
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