Psychiatric disorders may predispose patients to type 2 diabetes

Patients with depression, antidepressant or antipsychotic medication use, insomnia, and anxiety disorders are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) than those without these exposures, according to a study.

Researchers conducted a systematic review of 25 longitudinal studies that looked at different psychiatric disorders as risk factors for incident T2D in adults. These studies covered six categories of psychiatric disorders, as follows: depression, use of antidepressant medication, use of antipsychotic medication, eating disorders, insomnia, and anxiety disorders.

Of the studies, 14 were included in the meta-analysis. All psychiatric disorders, with the exception of eating disorders, were linked to an elevated risk of incident T2D.

The risk estimates for T2D ranged from 18 percent (relative risk [RR], 1.18, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.24) to 60 percent (RR, 1.60, 95 percent CI, 1.37–1.88) among patients with depression, from 27 percent (RR, 1.27, 95 percent CI, 1.19–1.35) to 50 percent (odds ratio [OR], 95 percent CI, 1.08–2.10) among individuals who used antidepressants, more than 90 percent (from OR, 1.93, 95 percent CI, 1.37–2.73 to OR, 1.94, 95 percent CI, 1.34–2.80) among those who used antipsychotics, from 55 percent (RR, 1.55, 95 percent CI, 1.21–1.99) to 74 percent (RR, 1.74, 95 percent CI, 1.30–2.34) among patients who suffered insomnia, and about 47 percent (OR, 1.47, 95 percent CI, 1.23–1.75) among those with anxiety disorders.

The researchers noted that the quality of the pooled evidence was diverse, with only 16 percent of the systematic reviews having a high methodological quality.

Additional longitudinal studies and systematic reviews with high methodological quality are warranted to further clarify the role of psychiatric disorders in the aetiology of T2D.