Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Incident Diabetes: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Background Elevated depressive symptoms are associated with an increased risk for diabetes. Depression is a heterogeneous and chronic condition in which symptoms may remit, emerge, lessen, or intensify over time. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine if trajectories of depressive symptoms measured at five time points over 8 years predicted incident diabetes over an 8-year follow-up in middle-aged and older adults. A secondary aim was to determine if trajectories of depressive symptoms predict incident diabetes, above and beyond depressive symptoms measured at a single time point. Methods Data came from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 9,233). Depressive symptoms were measured biennially from 1998 to 2006. Self-reported incident diabetes was measured during an 8-year follow-up. Results Five trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified (no depressive symptoms, low depressive symptoms, low-moderate depressive symptoms, moderate depressive symptoms, elevated and increasing depressive symptoms). Compared to the no depressive symptoms trajectory group (referent), all other trajectory groups were at higher risk of developing diabetes after adjusting for covariates. In most cases, trajectory group membership was associated with incident diabetes after controlling for depressive symptoms at a single time point. Conclusions Patterns of depressive symptoms over time were associated with incident diabetes. Patterns of depressive symptoms may be more predictive of diabetes incidence than depressive symptoms measured at a single time point.

Tiempo de diagnóstico de enfermedad en pacientes con diabetes e hipertensión arterial con síntomas de depresión en una muestra de pobladores peruanos

“…Los resultados de este estudio revelaron una asociación entre el tiempo de enfermedad desde el diagnóstico de HTA y DM2 con los síntomas depresivos. La asociación entre HTA y DM2 con los síntomas depresivos ha sido evidenciada en diferentes estudios (12)(13)(14)(15). Esta relación se ve alterada por diferentes factores como la conciencia de enfermedad, sexo, edad, hábitos nocivos y otras comorbilidades (7,16), pero el tiempo de diagnóstico de HTA y DM2 no ha sido estudiada a profundidad, es por eso que en nuestro estudio se decidió por involucrar esta variable más allá de solo asociar los síntomas depresivos con la presencia o no de estas enfermedades.…”

Trajectories of depressive symptoms and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and mortality: a prospective cohort study

“…10 Existing evidence has shown that different trajectories of depressive symptoms confer a differential risk for diabetes, dementia and stroke. [11][12][13] Nevertheless, the associations between trajectories of depressive symptoms and incident CVD, incident cancer, and mortality remain largely unknown. We hypothesise that the risk of long-term adverse health outcomes would decrease if depressive symptoms were cured or alleviated.…”

Depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older people in China and associations with chronic diseases

“…More importantly, depressive symptoms frequently co-occur with various chronic diseases, such as cancer ( 74 ), diabetes ( 75 ), and cognition-related diseases ( 76 ), especially in older people ( 77 , 78 ). Considering that chronic diseases are the most burdensome disease category among middle-aged and older people ( 79 ), highly incurring their mortality ( 80 , 81 ), it is notably important to investigate the long-term relationships between depression and chronic diseases.…”