Depression is Associated with Increased Risk for Metabolic Syndrome in Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
Latino adults are 66% more likely to have diabetes relative to non-Latino white adults. Prior research identifies depression as a significant risk factor for metabolic syndrome (MetS), but research examining this among Latinos is lacking. This study sought to examine the links between depression and MetS and clinically significant elevations in cardiovascular disease risk markers of MetS in a sample of community-dwelling older Latinos with type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
Participants were 332 community-dwelling older (≥60 years) Latinos with type 2 diabetes who completed the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and received a health checkup assessing body mass index (BMI), triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, and blood pressure. Logistic regression analysis compared MetS rates of those meeting criteria for depression with those who did not. Secondary analyses examined the associations between depression and individual MetS components. All analyses controlled for demographic (e.g., income, age) and other potential MetS risk factors (e.g., smoking status, physical activity, alcohol level consumption).


RESULTS
Depression was significantly associated with an increased risk of MetS (OR: 5.79; 95% CI: 1.32-25.42) and clinically significant elevations in triglycerides (OR: 2.71; 95% CI: 1.15-6.42) and reduced (HDL) cholesterol (OR: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.11-5.45). A significant association was not observed between depression and either BMI or hypertension.


CONCLUSIONS
Depression is significantly linked to MetS, and most notably dyslipidemia, in older Latinos with diabetes. Causation, however, cannot be inferred from these analyses given the cross-sectional nature of the study. Future research should prospectively examine the directionality of this effect.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
Veronica
V
Cardenas
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA. Electronic address: bmausbach@ucsd.edu.
Brent T
BT
Mausbach
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
David
D
Sommerfeld
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL.
Daniel
D
Jimenez
Klinik Barmelweid, Barmelweid, Switzerland.
Roland
R
von Känel
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
Jennifer S
JS
Ho
County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Services, San Diego, CA.
Piedad
P
Garcia
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
Gregory A
GA
Aarons
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides
Latino; cardiovascular disease risk; depression; diabetes; metabolic syndrome