Glucose status and depressive symptoms: a cohort study of elderly people in northwest Finland

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between depressive symptoms and impaired glucose metabolism in the elderly population in arctic latitudes.

Design: A population-based study. Setting. Community.

Subjects: The study population consisted of 1,830 subjects born between the years 1915 and 1958 in the northernmost part of Finland, the Muonio-Enontekiö district, who participated in a health survey during 1974–1984. In 2014, a health questionnaire was sent to 1,037 subjects, and 757 participants (73%) answered it. Those (n = 629) living in the Muonio-Enontekiö district undergone a clinical examination in 2014 and 2015 including blood collections.

Main outcome measures: Depressive symptoms defined by the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II) with a cut-off point of 14. Different diabetic states based on WHO’s classification criteria defined by fasting plasma glucose and ADA’s criteria by glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) values.

Results: According to logistic regression analysis, depressive symptoms (BDI-II ≥ 14) were associated statistically significantly with previously known type 2 diabetes, the odds ratio (OR) being 4.33 (95% CI 1.53–14.14). Regarding prediabetic fasting glucose/HbA1c values, the corresponding OR was 2.94 (95% CI 1.17–8.94). The prevalence of depressive symptoms (BDI-II ≥ 14) was 7.1%, (men 9.7% and women 5.4%) and 13.7% (men 9.9% and women 17.0%) in subjects living in Muonio-Enontekiö district and in those who had moved away from there, respectively.

Conclusions: The association of depressive symptoms between prediabetes and diabetes seems to be present also in the northernmost latitudes of the world.

Keywords::

• Diabetes
• depression
• arctic

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the field study team and study nurses who did all the clinical examinations and collected the data. We would also like to thank all the organizations we received financial support from and thank the Health Centre of Muonio-Enontekiö District and the Center for Life Course Health Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study received funding from: Center for Life Course Health Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu. Health Centre of Muonio-Enontekiö, Muonio. Northern Finland Health Care Foundation, Oulu. Cultural Foundation of Finland. Yrjö Perkkiö, Kätkäsuvanto.