Higher Risk Seen on Older Women with Diabetes and Depression
by Rizza Estanilla in Diseases on Jan 06, 2011
Older women who are diagnosed with diabetes and depression altogether are at a higher risk of dying from all causes, this includes heart disease, for only a period of six years, a new study reports.
In addition to this, the new study suggested that symptoms of depression affect between one-fifth and one-fourth of patients having diabetes. This rate is said to be nearly twice as many as individuals compared to those without diabetes.
The study looked at a number of 78, 282 women with ages 54 to 79 in the year 2000 who were also participants of the Nurses’ Health Study. Researchers An Pan and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health found that women who participated in the study were confirmed to have type II diabetes based on the questionnaires given to them. The team also classified those women to have depression by diagnosis, and were treated with antidepressants or scored high on an index measuring depressive symptoms.
The researchers followed up the study after six years, and found that there is a 44 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular among women having depression. There is an increased death risk of 35 percent among women having diabetes compared to women who have neither of the illnesses.
According to the researchers, the reasons behind this are still unclear, but they put that it may be perhaps depression leads to poor glycemic control and failure to control diabetes that further leads to complications.
Furthermore, diabetes and depression are both linked to unhealthy activities such as poor diet, smoking, and inactive lifestyle.
Moreover, they have concluded, “Considering the size of the population that could be affected by these two prevalent disorders, further consideration is required to design strategies aimed to provide adequate psychological management and support among those with longstanding chronic conditions, such as diabetes.”
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