| "Depression may cause diabetes in the elderly, a new study suggests. Those with many symptoms of depression are about 60% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people not considered depressed, the researchers say." "The research was the first to look at the effects of chronic depression, depression that worsened over time, and single bouts of depression, all in relation to diabetes. An increased risk for diabetes was found for each of those scenarios." "Mercedes Carnethon at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, US, and colleagues tracked 4681 men and women aged 65 and older, who did not have diabetes when the study began in 1989. The participants were screened annually over the next decade for 10 symptoms of depression, such as mood, irritability, calorie intake, concentration and sleep." ""People who report higher depressive symptoms may not take as good a care of themselves as they should," says Carnethon. "For example, they may be less physically active and thus more likely to gain weight, which is the primary risk factor for diabetes."" "But, ... read the whole article |