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Treating depression cuts type 2 diabetes risk: Study
by Jamie Anderson - June 9, 2009 - comments
Being overweight, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise have long been established to cause the onset of both depression and Type 2 diabetes. Now, latest research has revealed that treatment of depression also treats type 2 diabetes
Connecticut, June 9: Treating depression may help cut type 2 diabetes risk, a new study shows.
Drugs used to alleviate depression symptoms improve insulin resistance in patients, thus cutting down their risk for type 2 diabetes, researchers revealed.
"Insulin resistance is the hallmark of type 2 diabetes, and this study shows that treating depression is associated with improved insulin resistance," study’s lead researcher, Julie Wagner, from the University of Connecticut Health Center asserts.
The link between depression and diabetes is well pronounced, with diabetics standing double the risk for depression as against non-diabetics. But the results of the recent study establish depression as a significantly stronger risk factor for type 2 diabetes than diabetes is for depression.
The study
55 men and women, all pre-diabetics, were enrolled for the study. Pre-diabetes is a condition wherein the patient records glucose levels higher than normal, but not high enough to indicate diabetes.
Also, based on the commonly used test for depression, every third stud partaker was diagnosed to be clinically depressed and every fifth took antidepressants to alleviate depression symptoms.
Interesting findings
A closer analysis unfolded an interesting link. Participants who were clinically depressed and seeking treatment for the same had better insulin sensitivity than those who were non-depressed or depressed but not taking antidepressants, researchers highlighted.
Moreover, improved lifestyle, including a regular fitness regimen, healthy diet and weight control measures, could not bestow similar protective benefits against insulin sensitivity as depression drugs.
"Basically the depressed people on medication looked like the non-depressed people in terms of insulin sensitivity," Wagner stated.
The depression-diabetes link
Though researchers are still unclear about how depression contributes to type 2 diabetes, they believe cortisol, a stress hormone, plays a crucial role.
Besides being a key player in blood sugar metabolism and insulin sensitivity, higher cortisol levels are also associated with increased belly fat, a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Thus more depressed persons produce more cortisol, leading to more belly fat and more diabetes, Wagner explained.
Separately, depression also impairs the body’s immune system, aggravating the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The results of the study were presented at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans on Saturday.