Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multifactorial chronic disease which is related to many serious complications. Frequency of depression in patients with type 2 DM seems to be twice more frequent than in the general population. Current literature suggests that type 2 DM is accompanied by a low degree inflammatory process which is involved in diabetic complications, while depression increases also systemic inflammatory reaction. Thus, DM and depression are frequently accompanied by increased levels of hs-CRP. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether depressive symptoms are related to increased hs-CRP levels in type 2 diabetic patients and to evaluate the association of this interaction with the presence of diabetic complications. Also in this study we examined the relationship between hs-CRP and clinical and biochemical parameters. At the same time we sought the interaction between depression and various sociodemographic factors, clinical and biochemical parameters. 200 ...
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multifactorial chronic disease which is related to many serious complications. Frequency of depression in patients with type 2 DM seems to be twice more frequent than in the general population. Current literature suggests that type 2 DM is accompanied by a low degree inflammatory process which is involved in diabetic complications, while depression increases also systemic inflammatory reaction. Thus, DM and depression are frequently accompanied by increased levels of hs-CRP. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether depressive symptoms are related to increased hs-CRP levels in type 2 diabetic patients and to evaluate the association of this interaction with the presence of diabetic complications. Also in this study we examined the relationship between hs-CRP and clinical and biochemical parameters. At the same time we sought the interaction between depression and various sociodemographic factors, clinical and biochemical parameters. 200 patients (127 women/73 men) with type 2 DM, were enrolled in our study. Exclusion criteria were any diseases or situations that could influence hs-CRP levels. BDI-II scale was used to measure the presence of depression. Τhe results of our study are summarised as follows: Prevalence of depression is high in the whole of our population (31.5%) and also in men (26%) and women (34.6%) separately. Hs-CRP levels are not increased in our patients according to reference values (p>0.05), and have no difference between patients either with or without depression (p>0.05). The presence of diabetic complications are not statistically significant related to hs-CRP levels, neither in patients with depression, nor in patients without depression (p>0.05). Ηs-CRP levels show a statistically significant increase in overweight patients in the total (p=0.012), and in women separately (p=0.022), while HDL cholesterol appears to have an almost significant reverse relationship with hs-CRP levels in men (p=0.051). Depression is significantly related to obese patients, in the total (p=0.003), and in men (p=0.013), and also statistically significant is the relationship of depression with central obesity in the total (p=0,011) and in men (p=0,014). Statistically important is the relationship of arterial hypertension with depression in diabetic men (p=0,030). The presence of depression is statistically significantly increased in patients with diabetic complications in the total (p=0.013) and in men (p=0.001). LDL cholesterol are significantly decreased in depressive men comparing to non depressive men (p=0.033). Poor economic status appears to increase significantly the presence of depression in male patients (p<0.001), while the loss of job also increases the prevalence of depression in the total of the patients (p=0.009). In a clinical aspect, depression seems to influence the development of type 2 diabetes and the appearance of diabetic complications, without however the proof of direct attendance of inflammatory mechanisms. At the opposite, the relationship between inflammatory processes, depression and type 2 DM seems to be indirect, with the attendance of obesity. These observations demonstrate that depression has a significant role in the development of type 2 DM, and that the measurement of hs-CRP can have an additional diagnostic importance in obese diabetic patients.
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