Experts estimate that about 40 million American adults have pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance) and 16 to 18 million Americans have type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, about 10 to 15 percent of American adults are taking antidepressant drugs. Now research reports that antidepressant drugs may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in those who have pre-diabetes.
The study, presented at the June 10-11, 2006 meeting of the American Diabetes Association in Washington, DC, investigated whether antidepressant drugs are associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Maryland analyzed the data of 3,187 overweight participants with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), as part of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), for three years. At the beginning of the study, 5.7% of participants were taking antidepressants and 13.6% had previously taken antidepressants. Seventy-eight percent of those using antidepressants were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or serotonin modulators. The participants' symptoms of depression were measured on the Beck Depression Inventory.
The researchers found that there was a two- to three-times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes for participants who took antidepressants. Findings also revealed that participants with symptoms of depression at the beginning of the study, but were not taking antidepressants, did not have an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. These results were found after controlling for demographic factors and weight changes.
The study results don't explain how antidepressant drugs increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, or which antidepressants may be linked with the greatest risk.
REFERENCES:
1. Rubin RR et al. "Depression Symptoms, Antidepressant Medicine Use and Risk of Developing Diabetes in Diabetes Prevention Program Participants." Abstract 869-P, presented at the June 10-11, 2006 meeting of the American Diabetes Association in Washington, DC
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on November 12, 2006 02:42 PM
