Depression in diabetes and obesity - Racial/ethnic/gender issues in older adults

Objectives: This study focuses on the comorbidity between depression and diabetes, as well as depression and obesity, in a biracial community sample of older adults. Methods: The data are drawn from a cross-sectional survey of five counties in North Carolina, USA, part of a longitudinal study of morbidity and mortality among elders in the urban and rural south. During the first wave of the survey, 4162 persons 65+ years of age participated in an interview at their homes. During this interview, data were collected to assess demographics, functional status, cognitive status, depression and self-report of diabetes. In addition, subjects were asked to estimate their height and weight for the interviewers, from which data body mass index (BMI) was estimated. Results: In both uncontrolled and controlled analyses, female gender, lower education, functional impairment and cognitive impairment were associated with comorbid depression/diabetes and depression/high BMI. Age was not associated with comorbid depression/diabetes but younger age was associated with depression/cognitive impairment. African American race was strongly associated with depression/diabetes but not with depression/high BMI. Conclusions: More studies of comorbidity in the general population should be implemented to determine the relationship between these comorbid conditions and risk factors. Longitudinal studies are especially needed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.