2008 Woodie Awards
Antidepressant use linked to adult-onset diabetes
Issue date: 3/27/08
Diabetes and depression are two of the most common ailments suffered by middle-aged and older adults. Doctors know that people with diabetes are at a greater risk of becoming depressed.
A new study suggests that the reverse may be true as well: Although depression itself does not put adults at a greater risk of developing type-II diabetes, use of an antidepressant does.
The study chose subjects who are already at a high risk for diabetes, especially those with high glucose tolerance or low insulin sensitivity.
The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three different treatments as part of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP): intensive lifestyle, treatment with an anti-diabetic pill or taing a placebo.
The first type of treatment method in the study involved subjects staying on a low-fat diet and regularly engaging in moderate exercise.
In the second group, subjects continued their standard lifestyle but took an anti-diabetic pill, metformin, twice a day.
In the final group, patients kept the same standard lifestyle as patients on metformin but substituted the drug with a placebo.
At the beginning of the study, doctors measured the depression level of each subject using a test called the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
The BDI is a 21-question self-reporting quiz that categorizes the patient's state of mind over a two-week period. The study took place over three years, and the subjects took the BDI every six months in a clinical setting.
Another part of the study revolved around antidepressant use. The investigators hypothesized that antidepressants are associated with increasing diabetes risk; however, they were unsure how they are linked.
One class of antidepressants, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which includes the most commonly prescribed antidepressants like Prozac, has a well-known side effect of weight loss.
Since weight is an important factor in the development of diabetes, this class of antidepressants might actually reduce the risk of diabetes in the high-risk subjects.
A new study suggests that the reverse may be true as well: Although depression itself does not put adults at a greater risk of developing type-II diabetes, use of an antidepressant does.
The study chose subjects who are already at a high risk for diabetes, especially those with high glucose tolerance or low insulin sensitivity.
The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three different treatments as part of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP): intensive lifestyle, treatment with an anti-diabetic pill or taing a placebo.
The first type of treatment method in the study involved subjects staying on a low-fat diet and regularly engaging in moderate exercise.
In the second group, subjects continued their standard lifestyle but took an anti-diabetic pill, metformin, twice a day.
In the final group, patients kept the same standard lifestyle as patients on metformin but substituted the drug with a placebo.
At the beginning of the study, doctors measured the depression level of each subject using a test called the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
The BDI is a 21-question self-reporting quiz that categorizes the patient's state of mind over a two-week period. The study took place over three years, and the subjects took the BDI every six months in a clinical setting.
Another part of the study revolved around antidepressant use. The investigators hypothesized that antidepressants are associated with increasing diabetes risk; however, they were unsure how they are linked.
One class of antidepressants, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which includes the most commonly prescribed antidepressants like Prozac, has a well-known side effect of weight loss.
Since weight is an important factor in the development of diabetes, this class of antidepressants might actually reduce the risk of diabetes in the high-risk subjects.
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