It is common for physical health problems to affect the emotional well-being and mental health of patients, while mental disorders can also contribute to the appearance of physical symptoms. Now, a new study coordinated by scientists from IDIBELL, the Bellvitge University Hospital and the CIBEROBN Network Biomedical Research Center has found an association between type 2 diabetes and the severity of depressive symptoms in older adults with obesity and obesity. metabolic.
The work is integrated into the PREDIMED-Plus project and also suggests worse metabolic control from mild levels of depressive symptoms presented in the short-medium term, influenced by body mass index and lifestyle habits related to health care. diabetes, so the researchers point out that “the detection of depressive symptoms and a multidisciplinary integrative therapeutic approach must be guaranteed in patients with type 2 diabetes,” in the article showing their results that has been published in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation.
“Type 2 diabetes and affective problems are highly comorbid, with shared underlying factors and mutual influence on their clinical course and treatment, including adherence to diet and physical activity or control of diabetes-related complications,” they explain. Isabel Baenas and Lucía Camacho-Barcia, researchers from IDIBELL, the Bellvitge University Hospital and CIBEROBN who have led the research.
“This leads to an increase in morbidity and mortality and a reduction in the quality of life of these individuals, which is especially important for middle- and elderly-aged adults, who constitute a vulnerable group due to the frequent coexistence of metabolic and affective disorders. ”add the researchers.
Multidisciplinary treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes
The study has been coordinated by the group led by Dr. Susana Jiménez-Murcia and Dr. Fernando Fernández-Aranda from the Bellvitge University Hospital and IDIBELL and has included more than 6,000 participants, who have been analyzed to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between depressive symptoms and the presence of type 2 diabetes, in addition to exploring its association with metabolic control through glycosylated hemoglobin, which measures blood glucose, and other metabolic variables.
The researchers also examined the prospective relationship between depressive symptoms and levels of glycosylated hemoglobin in the blood, after one year of follow-up. “We have evaluated the predictive capacity of baseline depressive symptoms on glycosylated hemoglobin at one year of follow-up, and the possible mediating role of different characteristics such as duration of diabetes, physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and body mass index. body” explains Dr. Fernández-Aranda, also a Professor at the University of Barcelona and coordinator of the Eating Disorders Unit at the Bellvitge University Hospital.
The study is part of the PREDIMED-Plus project, whose sample is made up of older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome who adopted a multimodal strategy based on the Mediterranean diet and caloric restriction, accompanied by the promotion of leisure and physical activity. psychosocial support.
“The presence of type 2 diabetes increased the probability of higher levels of depressive symptoms and, in turn, at higher levels of depressive symptoms, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was greater”
The analyzes carried out in the study showed that the greater the severity of the baseline depressive symptoms, the greater the probability of obtaining glycosylated hemoglobin levels at annual follow-up that reflected worse metabolic control, which reflects worse metabolic control. “We observed that the presence of type 2 diabetes increased the probability of higher levels of depressive symptoms and, in turn, at higher levels of depressive symptoms, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was greater,” say Dr. Baenas and Camacho-Barcia.
The researchers also add that “a greater severity of depressive symptoms at the beginning of the study, as well as the duration of diabetes, predicted higher levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, a higher body mass index, and a lower level of expenditure after one year of intervention. energy in leisure physical activity and a lower probability of adherence to the Mediterranean diet.”
The results highlight the need to guarantee screening for depressive symptoms, as well as an integrative and multidisciplinary therapeutic approach in patients with type 2 diabetes, which takes into account both metabolic control and depressive symptoms in this population, since the symptomatic improvement of one will influence the other.
Sources: IDIBELL, Bellvitge University Hospital and CIBEROBN
