Researchers confirm link between presence of type 2 diabetes and severity of depression

MADRID, 2 (EUROPE PRESS)

The study, coordinated by IDIBELL, Bellvitge University Hospital and CIBEROBN, showed how having type 2 diabetes increased the likelihood of experiencing more depressive symptoms and, in turn, with higher levels of depressive symptoms, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was higher.

This study, conducted as part of the PREDIMED-Plus project, confirms the association between the presence of type 2 diabetes and the severity of depressive symptoms in older adults with obesity and metabolic syndrome. The results were published in the Journal of Endocrinological Research.

“Type 2 diabetes and mood problems are highly comorbid, sharing underlying factors and mutual influence on their clinical course and treatment, including diet and physical activity or treatment of diabetes-related complications,” explain Isabel Baenas and Lucia Camacho-Barcia , researchers from IDIBELL, Bellvitge University Hospital and CIBEROBN, who led the study.

“This leads to an increase in morbidity and mortality and a decrease in the quality of life of these individuals, which is especially important for middle-aged and elderly people, who constitute a vulnerable group due to the frequent coexistence of metabolic and mood disorders. “, the researchers add.

The study analyzed more than 6,000 participants to examine the cross-sectional association between depressive symptoms and the presence of type 2 diabetes, and to examine its relationship with metabolic control through glycosylated hemoglobin, which measures blood glucose levels, and other metabolic variables. Likewise, the prospective association between depressive symptoms and blood glycosylated hemoglobin levels was examined at 1-year follow-up.

“We assessed the predictive ability of baseline depressive symptoms based on glycosylated hemoglobin at 1-year follow-up, as well as the possible mediating role of various characteristics such as duration of diabetes, physical activity, adherence to a Mediterranean diet, and body mass index. “, explains Dr. Fernandez-Aranda, also a professor at the University of Barcelona and coordinator of the eating disorders unit at the Bellwitge University Hospital.

IN SEARCH OF AN INTEGRATIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
The work was coordinated by a team led by Dr. Susana Jimenez-Murcia and Dr. Fernando Fernandez-Aranda and involved all CIBEROBN groups participating in PREDIMED-PLUS. And this is part of the PREDIMED-Plus project, whose sample consists of overweight or obese older adults with metabolic syndrome who received a multimodal intervention with a Mediterranean diet and calorie restriction, accompanied by the promotion of leisure-time physical activity and psychosocial activities. support.

“We observed that having type 2 diabetes increased the likelihood of higher levels of depressive symptoms, and in turn, with higher levels of depressive symptoms, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was higher,” Dr. Baenas and Camacho-Barcia said.

Analyzes in the study showed that the greater the severity of baseline depressive symptoms, the greater the likelihood of being within the range of glycosylated hemoglobin levels at one-year follow-up, reflecting worse metabolic control.

The researchers also add that “greater severity of depressive symptoms at baseline, as well as duration of diabetes, predicted after one year of intervention higher glycosylated hemoglobin levels, higher body mass index, and lower levels of non-physical activity energy expenditure and lower likelihood of adherence.” Mediterranean diet.”

The results suggest the need to ensure screening for depressive symptoms as well as an integrative and multidisciplinary therapeutic approach in patients with type 2 diabetes that considers both metabolic control and depressive symptoms in this population, as improvement in symptoms of one will influence the other.