Insulin Resistance Linked to Major Depressive Disorder, Dutch Study Finds

Insulin resistance predicted the development of major depressive disorder in adults over the course of nine years, according to astudy published today inAJP inAdvance.“Several studies have shown an association between insulin resistance and depression, including our previous work,” Katie Watson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Stanford School of Medicine, toldPsychiatric News. “We did not know whether being insulin resistant first could lead to new cases of depression in the future. Here we see that insulin resistance, a highly prevalent condition that often precedes type 2 diabetes, is also associated with an increased rate of depression.”At baseline, researchers examined three surrogate measures of participants ’ insulin resistance: the ratio of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein (HDL); prediabetes, as measured by fasting plasma glucose level; and waist circumference. Participants included 601 adults in the Netherlands with no history of depression, anxiety, or other psychiatric disorders. Researc hers conducted additional physical and psychiatric interviews and screenings at 2, 4, 6, and 9 years, and results were adjusted for behavioral and sociodemographic variables.Researchers reported that higher triglyceride-HDL ratio at baseline increased risk for major depression by 89% in the nine-year follow-up. Similarly, higher fasting blood glucose levels increased major depression risk by 37% during the cou...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ajp in advance diabetes HDL insulin resistance Kathleen Rasgon Katie Watson prediabetes triglycerides Source Type: research