Depression may be Linked to Kidney Failure in Diabetic Patients: Study

A recent study shows that depression may increase the risk of kidney failure among diabetes patients.

For the study, Margaret Yu, MD, MS and Bessie Young, MD, MPH (VA Puget Sound Health Care System and University of Washington) and colleagues examined 3886 adults with diabetes who were covered by a large health maintenance organization in Washington State. The study revealed that 11.5 percent of the patients had major and 8.4 percent had minor depressive symptoms. A median follow-up of 8.8 years showed that 2.2 percent developed kidney failure.

After accounting for various factors, including race, age, sex, marital status, body mass index, education and other lifestyle contributors, researchers found that major depression in diabetes patients was often linked to an 85 percent higher risk of developing kidney failure.

However, they note that minor depressive symptoms did not significantly increase the risk of developing kidney failure.

"This is the first study to show that major depressive symptoms are associated with a higher risk of kidney failure in patients with diabetes," added Dr. Yu, via a press release. "As an observational cohort study, we can only identify an association between major depressive symptoms and kidney failure; additional studies are needed to determine whether treatment of depression can reduce the risk of kidney failure."

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More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).