Study shows link between depression and diabetes

BALTIMORE According to researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, people with depression have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to Reuters.

In a study group of about 5,000 ethnically diverse men and women aged between 45 and 84, the researchers found that people with symptoms of depression were 42 percent more likely to develop diabetes by the end of the study than those without such symptoms. They also found that the more serious the symptoms, the higher the risk of diabetes.

The researchers statistically accounted for factors including obesity, lack of physical activity and smoking, and found that the risk for diabetes was still 34 percent higher in patients with depression.

The study also measured the risk for developing depression among people who already had diabetes. Thos results showed that people who had been treated for diabetes were 54 percent more likely to develop depression symptoms than the others.