EFN

Researchers have found that women with diabetes are more likely to suffer from depression during and in the months after their pregnancy than non-diabetics.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 15 percent of women with diabetes suffered from depression during or after their pregnancy. Only 8 percent of women without diabetes suffered from depression during or after their pregnancy. According to a study co-author Bernard Harlow, from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, even diabetics who did not suffer from depression during their pregnancy had higher odds of becoming depressed within a year of giving birth.

Although researchers were not able to determine how many of the women involved in the study had a history of depression before they became pregnant, Harlow theorized that diabetes triggers hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy that can lead to depression.”The stress associated with managing [diabetes and pregnancy] at the same time can contribute to it as well,” said Harlow.

Diabetes and depression have been linked in the past but no study has managed to sort out the connection between the two. Depression can be hard to identify because many of the symptoms are commonly suffered by new mothers.

More than 11,000 Medicaid recipients in New Jersey participated in this study.