Author in the Room: Examining a Bi-Directional Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Diabetes

Summary: People with symptoms of depression are more likely to engage in diabetes-producing health behaviors, including eating more, exercising less, and smoking more. As a consequence, they were more obese. People with elevated symptoms of depression had a 42 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes over 3 years. This was partially explained by unhealthy behaviors. People with treated type 2 diabetes had a 52 percent increased risk of developing depressive symptoms over 3 years. This suggests that individuals with diabetes should be monitored for development of depression.