Abstract :
Background: Depression is one of the most common comorbidities of chronic diseases
including diabetes and obstructive lung diseases (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma).
Obstructive lung diseases and depression have few symptoms in common. However, they are both
common in adults and associated with chronic inflammation. It is not clear if their coappearance in
diabetic patients is coincidental or associated beyond that expected by chance.
Methods: A total of 1,003 adults with diabetes in community practice settings were interviewed
at home at the time of their enrolment into the Vermont Diabetes Information System, a
clinical decision support program. Patients self-reported their personal and clinical characteristics,
including any obstructive lung disease. Laboratory data were obtained directly from the clinical
laboratory, and current medications were obtained by direct observation of medication containers.
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the interviewed subjects to assess a possible
association between the prevalence of obstructive lung disease and depression.
Results: In a multivariate logistic regression model, obstructive lung disease was significantly
associated with depression even after correcting for gender, obesity (≥30 kg/m2), high
comorbidities (>2), low annual income (<$30,000/ year), cigarette smoking, alcohol problems,
and education level (odds ratio=1.83; 95% confidence interval 1.27, 2.62; P <0.01)