Adults with type 1 diabetes are roughly twice as likely as their non-diabetic peers to be depressed and to use medications for the problem, according to findings published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Treatment of depression can potentially improve blood sugar control and other outcomes in patients with type 1 diabetes, Dr. David M. Maahs, of the University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, and colleagues note.

The researchers analyzed data from the Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes Study, which ran from 2006 to 2008 and included data on depression, antidepressant use, and diabetes complications. Included in the analysis were 458 adults with type 1 diabetes and 546 similar subjects without diabetes.

Using a standard questionnaire, 17.5 percent of diabetics met criteria for depression compared with 5.7 percent of non-diabetics. Similarly, 20.7 percent of diabetics used antidepressant drugs versus 12.1 percent of non-diabetics.

Among people with diabetes, the likelihood of a diabetic complication was directly related to the presence and severity of depression. For instance, 23.4 percent of diabetics with depression had a diabetic complication compared with 12.1 percent of those without depression.

“Screening patients with type 1 diabetes for depression is vital,” especially for those with complications, the authors conclude. When depression is being treated in a person with diabetes, the doctor should look for improvements in both mental health and diabetes symptoms, they emphasize.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, April, 2009.