Depression and diabetes risks ‘are interconnected’

The risk of developing diabetes may be reciprocally connected with the onset of depression, according to new research from the US.

A study by the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston has been conducted which assessed the relationship between the two illnesses among 65,381 women aged between 50 and 75.

It was found that over a ten-year period, those who developed one of the two diseases were more likely to also be affected by the other, with this connection becoming more pronounced based on the severity of treatment.

The report's authors said the data backs the idea that diabetes is related to stress, as well as suggesting that depression has an effect on diabetes risk beyond weight and inactivity.

"Future studies are needed to confirm our findings in different populations and to investigate the potential mechanisms underlying this association," they noted.

According to Diabetes UK, diabetes patients are twice as likely to experience depression as the rest of the population, with the risk increasing among women.