Treating Depression Cuts Diabetes Death Risk

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Treating depression can help extendthe lives of people with diabetes, concludes a University of PennsylvaniaSchool of Medicine study in the December issue of the journal DiabetesCare.
It found that providing depression care management to older adults withdiabetes and depression reduced the risk of death over five years by about50 percent.
"Depression is common among people with diabetes and contributes toissues with medication and diet adherence and also leads to an overallreduced quality of life," study lead author Dr. Hillary R. Bogner, anassistant professor in the department of family practice and communitymedicine, said in a prepared statement.
The study included 584 people, ages 60 to 94, with depression. Of thesepatients, 123 had a history of diabetes. The participants were randomlyassigned to receive either usual care or depression care management, whichinvolved a depression care manager who worked with the patient's primarycare provider to recommend treatment for depression and help patientsadhere to their treatment program.
Patients with diabetes who received depression care management wereless likely to have died at the end of five years of follow-up thanpatients with diabetes who received usual care.
The findings support the integration of depression evaluation andtreatment with diabetes management in primary care, the study authorsconcluded.