When depression occurs along with diabetes, it can hasten death. If you treat the depression, can you forestall that earlier death?That's what researchers publishing in this month's issue of Diabetes Care asked. They analyzed data on 584 participants of the PROSPECT Trial (Prevention of Suicide in Primary Care Elderly: Collaborative Trial) and found:
"Older depressed primary care patients with diabetes in practices implementing depression care management were less likely to die over the course of a 5-year interval than depressed patients with diabetes in usual-care practices."The risk for death was reduced by about 50% over a 5-year period for patients with diabetes whose depression was being treated.
The authors concluded:
"These results should propel the development and dissemination of models of care that better integrate depression management for individuals with diabetes."
Diabetes, Depression, and Death; A randomized controlled trial of a depression treatment program for older adults based in primary care (PROSPECT)
