Introduction: Clinically overt depression is associated with an increased risk for insulin resistance. Data regarding the impact of subclinical depressive symptoms on the risk of diabetes are limited.
Objectives: The study aimed to assess the relationship of subclinical depressive symptoms with body fat distribution and diabetes risk in women.
Patients and methods: The analysis included 250 women, 68 with subclinical depressive symptoms and 182 controls. A clinical examination, oral glucose tolerance test, and lipid and liver enzyme level assessments were performed. Body composition was estimated by dual‑energy X‑ray absorptiometry. The participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaire.
Results: The women with subclinical depressive symptoms had higher visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass than the control group. The groups did not differ in the body mass index, waist circumference, total fat, fat‑free, android, and gynoid fat mass. Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA‑IR) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity were higher in the women with subclinical depressive symptoms than in the control group. In the women with subclinical depressive symptoms, we observed a positive correlation between the severity of somatic‑vegetative symptoms reported in the BDI and VAT mass, HOMA‑IR, and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity. Dysglycemia occurred more frequently in the women with subclinical depressive symptoms. In a subgroup analysis of postmenopausal women, the individuals with subclinical depressive symptoms had higher HOMA‑IR, GGT, ALT, and triglyceride / high‑density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios than the control group.
Conclusions: Subclinical depressive symptoms in women might predispose to dysglycemia.