By Ann J. Curley
CNN Medical Assignment Manager

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The familiar question entered my mind as I was reading a study in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association regarding diabetes and depression. Why? Because the study found that patients with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing depression and patients with depression have a higher risk of diabetes.

Lead study author Sherita Hill Golden, M.D. of Johns Hopkins University says her research involved two analyses of data generated by a study looking at heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The study involved over 5,000 men and women, ages 45 to 84.

First the researchers looked at people who began the study with symptoms of depression, but did not have diabetes. Those people had a 42 percent higher risk for developing diabetes during a three-year follow-up. Golden speculates that behaviors associated with depression, such as overeating, smoking, and not exercising, help to trigger the diabetes.

A second facet of the study looked at patients in whom type 2 diabetes was diagnosed, who had no symptoms of depression. Those patients showed a 54 percent higher risk for depression during the three-year follow-up period. Golden believes that the stress of managing diabetes can lead to depression for some patients. Although this study focused on type 2 diabetes, Golden says that depression is also common among type 1 diabetics.

Health care providers and patients must be aware of the double-edged sword of diabetes and depression. Identifying and treating both is critical. It’s important to understand that depression, when untreated, can lead to behaviors that can lead to, or worsen diabetes, because people eat poorly and don’t exercise. But there are many treatment options for both conditions that can keep patients healthy and happy.

Do you have diabetes or depression? Are you concerned that one might lead to the other? What are you doing to take care of yourself?

Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Yvonne Lee
CNN Medical Producer

The first time I began to associate sleeplessness with depression was after my aunt died. I was 8 years old and living in Los Angeles. My grandmother came to stay with us while the funeral preparations were made. I remember walking into my room and seeing her staring at the wall, eyes red and swollen. My sister and I slept on the floor next to her bed to keep her company. Several times during those few weeks, I woke up in the middle of the night and I’d see my grandmother wide awake, staring at nothing but the wall again. She barely spoke and stayed in bed, even during the day.

At least 80 percent of depressed people experience some form of insomnia, according to David N. Neubauer, M.D, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center - whether it’s difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. The link between the two has been well established. Recently, a study published in the journal SLEEP suggests that insomnia is more than just a symptom of depression; it actually increases your risk of getting it. People with insomnia that lasted more than two weeks were one and a half to two times more likely to develop depression.

I experienced insomnia right after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. I was based at CNN’s Washington bureau and for months, I couldn’t sleep.

I would drive to work absolutely exhausted and numb. Because I lived in Arlington, Virginia, I had to drive past the Pentagon on my way to work. It was an ugly reminder of what how many lives were lost that day.

I worked at the Pentagon on weekends to produce live shots with our reporter. Whenever I walked in, it smelled as if something had been burnt, like you had just put out a campfire.

I didn’t realize I was depressed until I saw my doctor and he told me to see a counselor. He prescribed anti-depressants - which did help me get some sleep - until I could get past what happened. Eventually, I felt better and went off the drug and was able to fall and stay asleep.

Have you ever experienced insomnia and later developed depression?

Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Chief Medical Correspondent

Wouldn’t it be great to know if you were likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease? I think about it all the time, especially when I forget something, lose my keys or lose my train of thought, which really seems to happen more and more lately. Truth is, everyone does that from time to time, and it often has no relationship to developing dementia. But researchers think they have found something that may serve as a warning sign. Depression. While it has long been believed that people with Alzheimer’s become depressed because of the mind-robbing effects of the disease, there is now some evidence to suggest that it is, in fact, the other way around. Depression may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

After tracking 917 retired Catholic priests and nuns, researchers found those with symptoms of depression at the beginning of the study were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. (read study)   A different study found that those with depression were 2.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s and if you developed depression before the age of 60, you were actually 4 times more likely to develop it.

The big question, of course, is why.  Well, after doing some digging, there is no easy answer.  However, consider this: People with depression often release lots of cortisol because of the stress of their depression, and it is believed that cortisol by itself could cause damage to the vital connections in the brain that are responsible for memory.

There is no question that as our population ages, more people than ever will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Besides better treatments, one of the biggest goals for researchers is earlier detection. 

As a neurosurgeon, I am fascinated by this and I am curious:  If you know, or have known anyone with Alzheimer’s disease, did you see any early clues that signaled future Alzheimer’s disease?

Editor’s Note:  Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.