Depression Treatment in Older Diabetic Patients Reduce Chances of Death

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The treatment of depression among older people could do more than just improving one's mental health, but may also lower the chances of death among people with diabetes, says a new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

"As one of the first studies to examine if treating depression reduces the risk for death across chronic medical conditions, this work highlights the need to integrate mental health and primary care services. Doing so may end up saving lives as well as reducing the suffering produced by depression," wrote the researchers in a EurekAlert press release.

According to the findings of the research, those older people suffering from the diabetes and were given the structured depression care management were 53 percent less likely to die over the course of the study as compared to those people who just underwent the normal course of care management.

Furthermore, the study also suggests that the depression care management also somehow leads to a lower risk of dying for those people with chronic conditions, but not including the heart disease. The researchers, though, concluded that the gains from depression care management were manifested the most among those with diabetes.

Depression care management involves trained depression care managers who are works hand in hand with physicians and older adults in order to come up with recommendations and to make sure there would be a follow-through on that advice.

For the study, more than 1,200 people aged 60 years and older and had been diagnosed with major depression, minor depression, or no depression were monitored. They were asked about their health, including whether or not they had chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, via a questionnaire, wrote Medical Xpress.

"Depression has a number of effects on health, including changing how the body maintains balance and reacts to stress and making it harder for people to be physically active, engage in self-care, and follow through on treatment plans," the researchers also added. "While these risks have been known for some time, it has been less clear whether treating depression would translate into improvements in health."

The study entitled, "Does a Depression Management Program Improve Mortality Among Older Adults with Specific Medical Conditions in Primary Care? An Exploratory Analysis," will be published in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The research summary for the study was developed by the Health in Aging Foundation, which is a national non-profit established in 1999 by the American Geriatrics Society. Their primary goal is to share to the public the knowledge and expertise of geriatrics healthcare professionals.