ArticleCureus2022
The Association of Hemoglobin A1c Levels and Depression Among Adults With Diabetes in the United States.
Article in Cureus, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and risk factors of depression in patients with diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Association Between HbA1c Levels and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms: Insights from Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale Screening After Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Interaction between dietary quality and depression on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetics.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The variations in health cost based on the traditional obesity parameters among patients with coronary artery diseases undergoing cardiac catheterization.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Glycemic indicators and mental health symptoms: results from the greater Beirut area cardiovascular cohort.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Article
- The Interaction of Glycemia with Anxiety and Depression Is Related to Altered Cerebellar and Cerebral Functional Correlations.Brain sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimDiabetes mellitus is linked to a decreased health-related quality of life, including poor mental health. Glycated hemoglobin/hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is an important marker in the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus. The main objective of this study was to assess the association between HbA1c levels (adequate control of serum glucose levels) and depression status among people with diabetes mellitus in the United States.
methodsWe performed a secondary analysis of data from participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018. The main exposure was HbA1c levels dichotomized into ≤ 7 and > 7. The primary outcome was Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores, dichotomized into no depression (scored 0-4 points) and depression regardless of severity (scored 5-27). Logistic regression was used to assess independent associations.
resultsOur sample included 429 adults with diabetes in the United States. About 41.5% had HbA1c > 7 and 26.8% presented some level of depression. The unadjusted analysis indicated that compared to adults with diabetes with HbA1c > 7, those with HbA1c ≤ 7 had 1.5 times greater odds of having some level of depression (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.04-2.1, p-value = 0.033). However, in the analyses adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, poverty, BMI, and sedentary lifestyle, the association between HbA1c levels and depression was no longer significant (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 0.9-1.8, p-value = 0.256). Other factors increasing the odds of depression included lower income to poverty ratio ≤ 1.3 (OR 2.9, 95% CI: 1.0-8.5, p-value = 0.048) and sedentary lifestyle of 5-10 hours and >10 hours (OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.6-4.5, p-value = 0.001 and OR = 5.2, 95% CI: 1.7-15.4, p-value = 0.006, respectively).
conclusionOur study found no evidence for an association between HbA1c levels and depression. Due to limitations in power and the potential selection and measurement bias, further prospective studies in this field are needed. Implementation of depression screenings in people with diabetes may allow for timely treatment to those affected, improving the mental health of this population.
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