Diabetes and depression are conditions that can fuel each other.
Diabetes and depression are conditions that can fuel each other.
Symptoms of clinical depression include anxiety, feelings of hopelessness or guilt, sleeping or eating too much or too little, and loss of interest in life, people and activities. Diabetes is characterised by high blood sugar and an inability to produce insulin. Symptoms include frequent urination, unusual thirst, blurred vision and numbness in the hands or feet. About 95 percent of diabetes diagnoses are type 2, and often are precipitated by obesity.
Researchers studied 65,381 female nurses for 10 years, gathering data through questionnaires. They found that among 7,415 nurses who became depressed, there was a 17 percent greater risk of developing diabetes. Those who were taking antidepressant medicines were at a 25 percent increased risk. On the other hand, 2,844 participants who developed diabetes were 29 percent more likely to become depressed, with those taking medications having an even higher risk that increased as treatment became more aggressive. None of these treatments are cures, unlike antibiotics for infections. So, depressed patients on antidepressants and diabetic patients on insulin still frequently suffer from their main symptoms. These patients fare worse in the long run because they were much worse than the other patients to start with.
The researchers noted that the correlations between diabetes and depression declined markedly when excessive weight and inactivity were controlled for in the study. This suggests that much of the observed correlation between depression and diabetes comes from confounding variables. Being fat and having an unhealthy lifestyle makes people more likely to be depressed, and also more likely to have diabetes. This study indicates that these two conditions can influence each other and thus become a vicious cycle. Thus, primary prevention of diabetes is important for prevention of depression, and vice versa.
When two conditions share the same risk factors (obesity and lack of exercise), it can be said that the conditions are linked and one is both the cause and consequence of the other condition. Depression can affect blood sugar levels and insulin metabolism through increased cortisol, contributing to unhealthy eating habits, weight gain and diabetes. On the other hand, management of diabetes can cause chronic stress and strain, which in the long run, may increase risk of depression. The two are linked not only behaviourally, but biologically. However, it is difficult to determine cause and effect, and therefore a large, controlled, randomised study is needed.
Symptoms of clinical depression include anxiety, feelings of hopelessness or guilt, sleeping or eating too much or too little, and loss of interest in life, people and activities. Diabetes is characterised by high blood sugar and an inability to produce insulin. Symptoms include frequent urination, unusual thirst, blurred vision and numbness in the hands or feet. About 95 percent of diabetes diagnoses are type 2, and often are precipitated by obesity.
Researchers studied 65,381 female nurses for 10 years, gathering data through questionnaires. They found that among 7,415 nurses who became depressed, there was a 17 percent greater risk of developing diabetes. Those who were taking antidepressant medicines were at a 25 percent increased risk. On the other hand, 2,844 participants who developed diabetes were 29 percent more likely to become depressed, with those taking medications having an even higher risk that increased as treatment became more aggressive. None of these treatments are cures, unlike antibiotics for infections. So, depressed patients on antidepressants and diabetic patients on insulin still frequently suffer from their main symptoms. These patients fare worse in the long run because they were much worse than the other patients to start with.
The researchers noted that the correlations between diabetes and depression declined markedly when excessive weight and inactivity were controlled for in the study. This suggests that much of the observed correlation between depression and diabetes comes from confounding variables. Being fat and having an unhealthy lifestyle makes people more likely to be depressed, and also more likely to have diabetes. This study indicates that these two conditions can influence each other and thus become a vicious cycle. Thus, primary prevention of diabetes is important for prevention of depression, and vice versa.
When two conditions share the same risk factors (obesity and lack of exercise), it can be said that the conditions are linked and one is both the cause and consequence of the other condition. Depression can affect blood sugar levels and insulin metabolism through increased cortisol, contributing to unhealthy eating habits, weight gain and diabetes. On the other hand, management of diabetes can cause chronic stress and strain, which in the long run, may increase risk of depression. The two are linked not only behaviourally, but biologically. However, it is difficult to determine cause and effect, and therefore a large, controlled, randomised study is needed.
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