Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2014 Jun;62(6):1017-22.
doi: 10.1111/jgs.12833. Epub 2014 May 13.

Depression and all-cause mortality in persons with diabetes mellitus: are older adults at higher risk? Results from the Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes Study

Lindsay B Kimbro  1 , Carol M Mangione, W Neil Steers, O Kenrik Duru, Laura McEwen, Andrew Karter, Susan L Ettner
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Depression and all-cause mortality in persons with diabetes mellitus: are older adults at higher risk? Results from the Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes Study

Lindsay B Kimbro et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the strength of the association between depression and mortality between elderly and younger individuals with diabetes mellitus.

Design: A survival analysis conducted in a longitudinal cohort study of persons with diabetes mellitus to test the association between depression and mortality in older (≥ 65) and younger (18-65) adults.

Setting: Managed care.

Participants: Persons aged 18 and older with diabetes mellitus who participated in the Wave 2 survey of the Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes (TRIAD) Study (N = 3,341).

Measurements: The primary outcome was mortality risk, which was measured as days until death using linked data from the National Death Index. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire.

Results: After controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity, income, and other comorbidities, mortality risk in persons with diabetes mellitus was 49% higher in those with depression than in those without, although results varied according to age. After controlling for the same variables, mortality risk in persons aged 65 and older with depression was 78% greater than in those without. For those younger than 65, the effect of depression on mortality was smaller and not statistically significant.

Conclusion: This analysis suggests that the effect of depression on mortality in persons with diabetes mellitus is most significant for older adults. Because there is evidence in the literature that treatment of depression in elderly adults can lead to lower mortality, these results may suggest that older adults with diabetes mellitus should be considered a high-priority population for depression screening and treatment.

Keywords: depression; diabetes mellitus; elderly; mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . National diabetes fact sheet: national estimates and general information on diabetes and prediabetes in the United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, GA: 2011. 2011.
    1. Anderson RJ, Freedland KE, Clouse RE, et al. The prevalence of comorbid depression in adults with diabetes: A meta-analysis. Diabetes Care. 2001;24:1069–1078. - PubMed
    1. Lin EHB, Heckbert SR, Rutter CM, et al. Depression and increased mortality in diabetes: Unexpected causes of death. Ann Fam Med. 2009;7:414–421. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang X, Norris SL, Gregg EW, et al. Depressive symptoms and mortality among persons with and without diabetes. Am J Epidemiol. 2005;161:652–660. - PubMed
    1. Egede LE, Nietert PJ, Zheng D. Depression and all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality among adults with and without diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2005;28:1339–1345. - PubMed

Publication types