One of every four patients with diabetes experiences clinical depression, according to background information in the article. Among those with diabetes, depression can reduce quality of life and the ability to function and increase the risk for high blood sugar levels, diabetes-related complications and death. Treatment with antidepressant medications and psychotherapy has been shown to be effective, but only in the short term. In previous studies, one in seven patients with diabetes developed recurrent depression that did not respond to treatment and their blood sugar levels generally increased, placing them at a higher risk of complications associated with their diabetes.

Patrick J. Lustman, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, and colleagues studied 152 patients with diabetes (average age 52.8 years) who had recovered from depression during treatment with sertraline. Participants were followed for up to one year or until their depression recurred, during which time 79 were randomly assigned to continue taking sertraline and 73 were randomly assigned to take a placebo. They visited a physician's office every month and received phone calls at the two-week point to screen for symptoms of depression. If such symptoms were detected, they underwent a psychiatric interview. Patients' hemoglobin (Hb A1c) levels, which reflect the individual's control of blood glucose levels over the previous two to three months, were measured every two months.

Participants taking sertraline were significantly less likely to develop an additional episode of depression. After one year, 65.8 percent of the patients taking sertraline remained in remission from their depre
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Contact: Jim Dryden
314-286-0110
JAMA and Archives Journals
1-May-2006