Washington, Apr 24 : A new study has found that chronic depression or depression that worsens over time may cause diabetes in older adults.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers lead by Mercedes Carnethon, at Northwestern University.

As part of the study, researchers examined 4,681 men and women in age group 65 and above from Forsyth County, N.C, Sacramento County, California, Washington County, Maryland and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, annually for 10 years.

Researchers measured depressive symptoms at a single point in time as well as depressive symptoms over time. This approach paints a more accurate depiction of depressive symptoms. By measuring depressive symptoms before diabetes developed, researchers were able to investigate the causal effect between mood and diabetes.

Researchers found that depression alone, and not lifestyle factors like being overweight, can trigger Type 2 diabetes in adults 65 and older, a population with a high prevalence of diabetes and depression.

“This means doctors need to take depressive symptoms in older adults very seriously because of the effect it has on the likelihood of developing diabetes,” Carnethon said.

“Diabetes is a scourge. It causes heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, leg amputations and lowered cognitive function because it essentially degrades the small and large blood vessels,” she added.

Researchers concluded that diabetes in persons who are depressed is a result of high level of a stress hormone, cortisol. High levels of cortisol may decrease insulin sensitivity and increase fat deposits around the waist (a risk factor for diabetes).

Insulin enables glucose (sugar) to enter the body’s cells to be used as fuel. When people are under acute stress or are depressed, the cells in the pancreas are suppressed and secrete less insulin to enable the body to sweep glucose out of the bloodstream. Compounding the problem, high cortisol levels decrease the muscles’ sensitivity to insulin, which also could result in elevated glucose levels.

“When you’re depressed or under stress your body is trying to keep glucose in the bloodstream because it needs it for immediate energy. So, it’s blocking insulin action. And you may even be producing more glucose because your body thinks it needs the sugar,” Carnethon said.

“It’s not a normal condition for older adults to be depressed. I think a lot of people say, ‘Oh, they’re old, they should be depressed. What does it matter if they’re a little bit down?’ Well, it does matter and you should treat it aggressively because it has effects on health beyond that of mood,” she said.

The findings of the research will be published in the April issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. (ANI)