The first known study to examine the relationship between diabetes and mortality in a depression intervention trial appears in the December issue of Diabetes Care.
Depression is common among people with diabetes and contributes to issues with medication and diet adherence, and also leads to an overall reduced quality of life, says lead author, Hillary R. Bogner, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine at Penn.
The multi-site, practice-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 20 primary care practices in New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. A total of 584 participants 60 “ 94 years of age were identified through a depression screening, and of these participants, 123 reported a history of diabetes. The practices were randomly assigned to usual care, or a depression care management intervention, which involved a depression care manager who worked with the primary care provider to recommend treatment for depression and assist patients with treatment adherence.
At follow-up, 110 depressed patients had died. Depressed, older adults with diabetes who were in practices randomized to depression care management were less likely to have died at the end of the 5-year follow-up than were depressed, older adults with diabetes who received usual care. The authors note that they believe these findings support the integration of depression evaluation and treatment with diabetes management in primary care.
pennhealth/
This project was the first of its kind to track the change in prices over time not by food group, but by food quality. The Labor Department monitors food prices by tracking the cost of an average "food basket," which is calculated based on what American consumers purchase at the grocery store. However, the researchers argue, the inflation rate of the overall basket may drastically underestimate the rising cost of the healthiest foods.
The UW study looked at price inflation in foods grouped by energy density, or calories per gram of food. Energy density is one measure of food quality, since many energy-dense foods also tend to be low in nutrients. People who eat energy-dense foods may consume more calories than they need.
"We are an overfed but undernourished nation," said Drewnowski.
Drewnowski and Monsivais argue that the study provides yet another piece of evidence that obesity isn't just a personal problem -- it's an economic one.
"We need to focus on bigger-scale changes, like the farm bill or other policy measures that can address the disparity in food costs," Monsivais said.
The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in the National Institutes of Health.
uwnews/