Get your full text copy in PDF
Katarzyna Pietrzyk-Orkisz, Katarzyna Józefacka-Majewska, Marlena Zajączkowska, Piotr Gałecki
Med Sci Tech 2016; 57:110-115
DOI: 10.12659/MST.900780
ABSTRACT: Depression and diabetes mellitus are increasingly recognized as comorbid chronic diseases. The relationship between diabetes and depression, argued to be bidirectional, depends on many factors and can be explained by behavior and physiology. Comorbid depression with diabetes increases the risk of developing diabetes-related complications, which in turn exacerbates the course of depression and imposes a huge burden on healthcare costs. Thus, treatment of comorbid depression is vital for the clinical care of patients with diabetes. It has been argued that antidepressants are effective in the treatment of depression in diabetic patients. Treatment with antidepressant medications can directly affect blood glucose levels: SSRIs and MAOIs improve glycemic control, whereas TCAs and (probably) SNRIs cause adverse effects. The effects of other new antidepressants on glycemic control should be confirmed, and results thus far are promising. In patients with diabetic neuropathic pain, TCAs and SNRIs are useful. Treatment of depression improves health-related behaviors and glycemic control, which are fundamental to the management of diabetes and prevention or delay of long-term complications.
Keywords: Antidepressive Agents, Comorbidity, Depression, Diabetes Mellitus