Treating depression can help extend the lives of people with diabetes, U.S. media quoted a new study as saying Tuesday.
Depression and diabetes are conditions that are closely linked with each other, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine said in a study published in the December issue of the journal Diabetes Care.
The study found that providing depression care to older adults with diabetes and depression reduced the risk of death over five years by about 50 percent.
Patients with diabetes who received depression care were less likely to have died at the end of five years of follow-up than patients with diabetes who received usual care, according to the study.
"Depression is common among people with diabetes and contributes to issues with medication and diet adherence and also leads to an overall reduced quality of life," said study lead author Dr. Hillary R. Bogner, an assistant professor in the department off amily practice and community medicine.
The study included 584 people, aged between 60 and 94, with depression. Of these patients, 123 had a history of diabetes.
The participants were randomly assigned to receive either usual
care or depression care, which involved a depression care manager working with the patient's primary care provider, to recommend treatment for depression and help patients adhere to their treatment program.
The findings support the integration of depression evaluation and treatment with diabetes management in primary care, the study authors concluded.
Source: Xinhua
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