Friday, May 6, 2011

Treat Depression to Boost Diabetes Self-Care: Study

(HealthDay News) -- Treating diabetes patients' depression boosts their overall health, according to a new study.

It included 145 people with type 2 diabetes and depression who received a year-long depression intervention that included 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy over the phone, followed by nine monthly booster sessions. They also took part in a walking program.

They were compared to a control group of 146 diabetes patients with depression who received usual diabetes care.

At the end of the year, depression symptoms were in remission for 58 percent of the patients in the intervention group and 39 percent of those in the control group, said the researchers at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and the University of Michigan Health System.

The intervention program also led to lower blood pressure, an increase in walking of about four miles a week and improvement in general quality of life.

However, most patients already had good blood sugar control at the outset of the intervention, so A1C levels, a measure of blood sugar control, did not drop. Read more...

AyurGold for Healthy Blood

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