Patients with diabetes and depression may need additional support for exercise

Objective: To examine the association between depressive symptoms and exercise-related variables among patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Surveys were completed by 207 primary care patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (52% female; 95% white; mean age = 63 years). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Results: Lower use of relapse prevention behavior was significantly associated with higher depression scores in a multivariate model. Conclusions: Patients with diabetes and depression have barriers to exercise (eg, fewer skills for relapse prevention) and may require additional support for exercise initiation and maintenance.