Endocrine Abstracts

Bacground: It is disputable whether negative effects of comorbid depression in patients with type 2 diabetes can be diminished by treatment of depression. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether addition of antidepressants to existing insulin therapy would further improve glycemic control in these patients. A secondary objective was to assess whether such treatment impairs their lipid and inflammatory status.

Material/methods: Total of 50 patients with poorly controlled diabetes (defined as HbA1c >8%) and BDI-II >14 and psychiatric confirmation of depression, in the abscence of any uncontrolled medical condition, entered the 6 month interventional phase with SSRI class antidepressants.

Results: During the interventional phase HbA1c dropped from 8.5%±1.2% to 7.7%±0.7% (P<0.001). BDI-II scores improved significantly from 30.4±13.2 to 23.5±11.0 (P=0.02) during the interventional phase. A positive linear correlation between improvement in depression scale and improvement in glycemic control was observed (R²=0.139, P=0.008). Lipid profile and inflammatory status did not change significantly during interventional phase.

Conclusion: Patients with poorly controlled diabetes and comorbid depression might benefit from screening and treatment of depression with SSRI antidepressants by achieving an incremental effect on glycoregulation. This therapy did not have any adverse effects on lipid profile or inflammatory status.