Each threatens brain health, and combination is worse, study suggests
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Depression and diabetes are each hard on the brain, and having both conditions may significantly raise the risk of dementia, according to new research.
"What this argues for is, we need to do a better job of both identifying diabetes and depression and then really treating them once identified," said study researcher Dr. Dimitry Davydow, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
His team looked at dementia risk among 2.4 million people in Denmark, age 50 and older, who had depression, type 2 diabetes or both, and compared them with people who had neither condition.
The researchers also took into account pre-existing medical conditions, such as cerebral vascular problems, complications such as kidney problems and other ailments.
"Even after taking those into account, diabetes itself raised the risk of dementia by 15 percent, depression by 83 percent and the two together by 107 percent," Davydow said.
The association was especially strong in people younger than 65. In that age group, "a quarter of the cases [of dementia] were attributed to depression and diabetes," he said.
In Western populations, type 2 diabetes and major depression are increasingly common. And as many as 20 percent of people with diabetes, which is rapidly increasing in younger groups, also have depression, the researchers said in background notes with the study.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to look at this issue in this way," Davydow said. The findings were published online April 15 in JAMA Psychiatry.
The study points out a complicated link between depression, diabetes and dementia, but does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
"There is lots of evidence that those who struggle with depression are more likely to develop chronic medical problems like diabetes and heart disease and high blood pressure," Davydow said.
"They are less likely to take medications if they are depressed. Those who have diabetes are more likely to suffer from depression," he added.
source : Depression Plus Diabetes May Boost Dementia Risk
