Depression and Anxiety Varies Between Men and Women With Type 2 Diabetes
Symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with type 2 diabetes vary by sex, a recent study showed. Women with elevated c-reactive protein levels are more likely to have anxiety, whereas men with higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels face a greater risk of depression.
Past research has shown that depression is a risk factor for worse type 2 diabetes outcomes, and depression often co-occurs with anxiety. However, anxiety has rarely been accounted for in these studies, the researchers noted.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Diabetes-Associated Complications Increase Hospital Readmission Rates
Metabolic Score Helps Target Appropriate Weight Loss Therapy for Diabetes Prevention
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In their analysis, the they evaluated data on 2035 adults with type 2 diabetes from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. They used multivariate logistic regression to assess relationships between symptoms of depression and anxiety and waist girth, HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, c-reactive protein, glycemic control, diet adherence, exercise, glucose monitoring, foot checks for ulcers, and the subjective patient experience. Analyses were stratified by sex.
Results indicated that factors associated with depression and anxiety varied according to sex. Anxiety was related to elevated c-reactive protein levels in women, whereas depressive symptoms were related to elevated HbA1c in men.
Furthermore, the researchers found that depression was associated with a lower likelihood of avoiding saturated fats and increased risk of physical inactivity. However, anxiety was associated with increased odds of eating vegetables, and a 2-times higher risk of feeling that having diabetes is difficult.
“Symptoms of depression and anxiety were differentially associated with some key diabetes-related measures,” the researchers concluded. “Our results suggest sex-specific differences with respect to two important clinical outcomes (ie, anxiety and CRP in women and depression and glycemic control in men). These findings should alert practitioners to the importance of detection and management of psychological symptoms in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.”
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
Naicker K, Øverland S, Johnson JA, et al. Symptoms of anxiety and depression in type 2 diabetes: associations with clinical diabetes measures and self-management outcomes in the Norwegian HUNT study. Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2017;84:116-123. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.002.