Effect of race/ethnicity and persistent recognition of depression on mortality in elderly men with type 2 diabetes and depression.

Richardson LK, Egede LE, Mueller M. Effect of race/ethnicity and persistent recognition of depression on mortality in elderly men with type 2 diabetes and depression. General hospital psychiatry. 2008 May 1; 31(5):880-1.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions

Search for Abstract from PubMed

---

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether mortality risk from depression among elderly men with type 2 diabetes differs by ethnicity and persistent recognition of depression. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data on a cohort of 14,500 male veterans with type 2 diabetes were analyzed. Diagnoses of depression and diabetes were based on ICD-9 codes. Persistent recognition was defined as an ICD-9 code for depression documented in at least the second or third visit after the initial diagnosis of depression. Hazards of death were compared using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusting for relevant covariates. RESULTS: Over 10 years, 2,305 deaths were documented. Mortality risk was higher for depressed than nondepressed veterans with diabetes (hazard ratio [HR] 1.6 [95% CI 1.3-1.8]). Among those with depression, mortality risk was lower with persistent recognition (0-2 visits vs. > or = 3 visits after initial diagnosis, HR 0.58 [0.40-0.89]) but higher for whites than blacks (1.60 [1.11-2.31]). CONCLUSIONS: Increased mortality from depression differs by ethnicity and persistent recognition.