Diabetes and depression should be treated together, study says

Depression is very common among individuals with type 2 diabetes, and the mood disorder may interfere with a person's ability to care for their health condition. For these reasons, a new study recommends treating both conditions in concert.

A team of researchers reported in the Annals of Family Medicine that a treatment intervention utilizing an integration care manager increased medication adherence among patients with both diabetes and depression.

The program basically involved taking steps to treat a person's diabetes in their social and cultural contexts. By recognizing that emotional factors play a role in how well a person will manage their diabetes, the researchers believed it would be possible to get more diabetics to take their medications as prescribed.

This is considered an important marker of treatment success because, whether these individuals have a prescription to buy Actos or Paxil to treat their condition, they rarely take their medications as prescribed. This can lead to major health complications.

Furthermore, the team pointed out that the program only required two hours of specialist attention per patient, which may help make the initiative sustainable over the long term.