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Depression in diabetics linked to higher risk for dementia

12/10/2011 16:04:00 admin

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By David Liu, Ph.D. and editing by Stacey Sexton

A new study in the Dec. 5, 2011 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry suggests that depression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus may be a marker of high risk for dementia.

The study, led by Wayne Katon, MD of University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues, found type 2 diabetes patients who had depression were 100 percent more likely to suffer dementia.

Dementia, like Alzheimer's disease, is a neurological disorder that affects memory, thinking, language, perception, emotional behavior or personality and cognitive skills. This is due to loss of brain function as occurs with Alzheimer's, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Katon et al. followed 19,239 diabetes patients aged 30 to 75 who were enrolled in the Diabetes and Aging Study in Northern California to identify cases of depression and dementia that occurred 12 months prior to the baseline.

During the 3 to 5 year follow-up, 2.1 percent of patients with both depression and diabetes were found to have one or more Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnoses of dementia. This was compared to 1.0 percent of dementia cases in patients with diabetes only.

This means that being depressive was associated with 100 percent increased risk of dementia in type 2 diabetes patients, compared to those diabetics without depression.

The researchers concluded: "Depression in patients with diabetes was associated with a substantially increased risk for development of dementia compared to those with diabetes alone."

Many things can cause depression. Observational studies suggest vitamin D deficiency may be one of the major causes for the disorder. A study released in the Nov. 2011 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that low vitamin D levels may be responsible for depressive symptoms, particularly in those with a history of depression.

The study, led by M.T. Hoang and colleagues from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX, found that those who had higher vitamin D levels were 8 percent less likely to have depression. Among those who had a history of depression, those who had higher vitamin D levels were found to be 10 percent less likely to have depressive symptoms, compared to those who had low levels of the vitamin.

Vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with higher risk of dementia.

It is estimated that at least 10 million Americans have dementia.

Type 2 diabetes affects at least 20 million Americans, according to the U.S. government.

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