Treating Depression May Augment Diabetes Patients’ Overall Health
HealthDay (4/22, Preidt) reported that treating diabetes patients’ “depression boosts their overall health,” according to study in the journal Medical Care, which included “145 people with type 2 diabetes and depression who received a year-long depression intervention” that included “12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy over the phone, followed by nine monthly booster sessions,” which included a walking program.
A control group of “146 diabetes patients with depression” received usual diabetes care. At the end of the year, depression symptoms were “in remission for 58 percent of the patients in the intervention group and 39 percent of those in the control group.” Moreover, the intervention program also led to “lower blood pressure, an increase in walking of about four miles a week and improvement in general quality of life.”