According to the findings of a Mendelian randomization research, there appears to be genetic evidence that depression increases the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in diabetic patients.
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| Image: Depressed Senior with Diabetes | InStyleHealth |
Researchers looked at single-nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs) linked to depression (807,553 people), anxiety (83,556 people), and
neuroticism (83,556 people) using data from the greatest genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (329,821 individuals). From a recently published
GWAS of 15,666 diabetic individuals, they collected summary-level data for CAD
(3,968 CAD cases and 11,696 controls).
The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) technique revealed
a significant link between genetic susceptibility to depression and a greater
incidence of CAD in diabetic individuals (odds ratio, 1.286, 95 percent
confidence range, 1.018–1.621; p=0.035).
Anxiety and neuroticism, on the other hand, were not
linked to coronary artery disease.
The weighted median, maximum likelihood, and MR-Egger
methods all yielded consistent results in sensitivity studies.
The causal effect of depression on CAD could be
explained by a number of ways. The secretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone
is increased in persons with depression. As a result, glucocorticoids are
overproduced, glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity is decreased, and the
negative feedback system of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is
disrupted. Evidence also suggests that depression might decrease blood sugar
management and lead to insulin resistance when accompanied by behavioral
changes (e.g., irregular diet and medication nonadherence). [Diabetes Care
2008;31:2398-2403]
In order to avoid CAD, the findings emphasize the
significance of providing mental health treatments to diabetic patients.