This new study investigated the prevalence of and health factors that are associated with depressive symptoms in older adults with diabetes.
Examining older adults with diabetes for depressive symptoms is vital, as the association between depressive symptoms and older adults with diabetes is significant, according to a new study published in https://healthinfoshayan.blogspot.com
Diabetes primarily affects older adults, and previous studies have found an association between diabetes and depression. Socioeconomic, individual, behavioral, and clinical factors have been found to be predictors of depression in older adults with diabetes. This study aimed to find the prevalence of and health factors that are associated with depressive symptoms in older adults with diabetes.
Adults who were enrolled in the Monitoring and Control Service of Hypertension and Diabetes at 4 Basic Healthcare Units (BHU) were included in this cross-sectional study. The research was conducted in 4 BHU areas, with a random draw from the 91 micro-areas. A community health agent was tasked with helping during home visits and to assist the research team in locating residences. Inclusion criteria included being an older adult with type 2 diabetes, 60 years and older, and enrolled in the BHU area.
A form that was made of 2 survey sets was applied to collect sociodemographic, behavioral, and health condition data, and it also included the Geriatric Depression Scale. Sex, age groups (60-69, 70-79, and 80 years), ethnicity, marital status, and education level were the included sociodemographic factors.
Health conditions were also assessed, including family history of diabetes, diabetes complications, rheumatism, osteoporosis, systemic hypertension, circulation problems, heart problems, difficulty sleeping, vision problems, chronic pain, type of diabetes complications, and prescribed treatment.
There were 236 older adults with diabetes included in the study. The majority were female (76.7%), and the mean (SD) age was 71.6 (8.03) years. Sixty-four percent of the participants declared Brown ethnicity, 81.4% did not have a partner, and 61.9% had primary or lower education.
A total of 24.2% of the older adults with diabetes reported having depressive symptoms. Female participants without a partner were the most common patient type in this group, but this connection was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Brown ethnicity was primarily associated with depressive symptoms, with 59.6% of patients with depressive symptoms reporting brown ethnicity.
Alcohol consumption was found to be associated with depressive symptoms, with 7.0% of patients with depressive symptoms reporting excessive drinking compared with 1.1% of those without depressive symptoms who do drink excessively. Significant associations with depressive symptoms were also found in the existence of any diabetes complications (59.6%) and ocular (48.1%) and circulatory (38.9%) types of diabetes complications. Rheumatism (50.9%), heart and circulation problems (61.4%), difficulty sleeping (64.9%), and severe chronic pain (77.2%) were all associated with depressive symptoms in older adults with diabetes, as a majority of people who reported depressive symptoms also reported these health conditions.
The researcher concluded that this study was in line with previous studies in finding that depressive symptoms were highly prevalent in older adults with type 2 diabetes.
“This perspective suggests that, by identifying groups at greater risk, primary care professionals can develop care strategies and refer older adults with [diabetes] for a mental health consultation to reduce complications and improve prognosis,” the authors wrote.
Psychological Resilience Associated With Better Physical Function, QOL in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
A study found that older adults with type 2 diabetes had better physical function and quality of life (QOL) if they had higher psychological resilience.
A study published in the https://healthinfoshayan.blogspot.com found that psychological resilience was associated with improved physical function and quality of life (QOL) in older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Psychological resilience has previously been linked to well-being, healthy lifestyle, and a reduced risk of mortality in older adults. With an increased interest in identifying reasons for healthy aging, the researchers were interested in assessing psychological resilience in patients with T2D due to the biopsychological challenges of the disease.
Older adults from the observational phase of the Look AHEAD Trial were included in this study. The study was designed to assess the effect of intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) when compared with diabetes support and education (DSE) on risk of cardiovascular morbidity or mortality in patients with T2D. Data for this study were collected a mean (SD) of 14.4 (0.9) years after randomization in the observational phase of the Look AHEAD trial. Participants who were aged 45 to 76 years, had a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg/m2, and had a confirmed diagnosis of T2D were included.
All participants self-reported demographic information, including age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Weight was measured using a digital scale and BMI was calculated with the data collected. Diabetes status was determined with hemoglobin A1c measures. Hospitalizations were self-reported.
The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), the Medical Outcomes Survey, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Pepper Assessment Tool for Disability were used to assess resilience, QOL, depressive symptoms, and disability, respectively. Gait speed and grip strength were used to assess physical function, whereas frailty was assessed with a modified Fried’s phenotype.
There were 3199 participants in the current study who provided complete data for the BRS. The BRS was not associated with treatment (DSE, 3.8 [0.8]; ILI, 3.8 [0.7]) or age. However, BRS scores varied by gender (male, 3.9 [0.7]; female, 3.7 [0.8]) and race/ethnicity (White, 3.8 [0.8]; Black, 3.9 [0.7]; Hispanic, 3.7 [0.8]; other/mixed, 3.6 [0.7]).
Patients with more frequent hospitalizations in the past year were associated with having lower physical and mental QOL, greater depressive symptoms, greater disability, lower gait speed, lower grip strength in kilograms, and increased odds of frailty. The associations of hospitalizations with disability and grip strength in kilograms (1.16; 95% CI, 0.809-1.506) were the only factors to be moderated by BRS.
Psychological resilience was positively associated with physical (odds ratio [OR], 3.44; 95% CI, 2.99-3.90) and mental (OR, 7.41; 7.02-7.80) QOL and fewer depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 total score, –2.02; 95% CI, –2.16 to –1.87). It was also associated with lower likelihood of meeting criteria for frailty vs nonfrail patients with weight included (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.33-0.45) and excluded (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.33-0.46).
There were some limitations to this study. Causal conclusions could not be clarified due to the cross-sectional nature of the study. The possibility of a type 1 error is increased due to the multiple analyses done. The 1-time assessment assumes resilience is an enduring personality trait due to the nature of the BRS assessment. All sociocultural factors were not included in the study.
The researchers concluded that the association of psychological resilience with aging-related functions found in the study is “aligned with a more wholistic perspective on aging-related health.” Finding ways to distinguish between psychological and physical resilience can be useful for measuring these functions.
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