Combination of diabetes, depression ups death risk

The combination of diabetes and depression increases a person’s risk of dying early, beyond that linked to either condition alone, a new study suggests.

The implication, according to researchers, is that patients with diabetes should be routinely screened for depression.

They found that among more than 10,000 U.S. adults in a national health survey, those who had both diabetes and depression were more likely than those with either disorder alone to die over the next 8 years. They were 2.5 times more likely to die during the study period than were men and women without diabetes or depression. The findings are published in the June issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by John M. Grohol, PsyD (or subscribe to their feed).

Comments

This post currently has 5 comments. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.

Trackbacks

No trackbacks yet to this post.

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 24 Jun 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.