Antidepressant Medicine Use and Risk of Developing Diabetes During the Diabetes Prevention Program and Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between antidepressant medicine use and risk of developing diabetes during the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS DPP/DPPOS participants were assessed for diabetes every 6 months and for antidepressant use every 3 months in DPP and every 6 months in DPPOS for a median 10.0-year follow-up.

RESULTS Controlled for factors associated with diabetes risk, continuous antidepressant use compared with no use was associated with diabetes risk in the placebo (adjusted hazard ratio 2.34 [95% CI 1.32–4.15]) and lifestyle (2.48 [1.45–4.22]) arms, but not in the metformin arm (0.55 [0.25–1.19]).

CONCLUSIONS Continuous antidepressant use was significantly associated with diabetes risk in the placebo and lifestyle arms. Measured confounders and mediators did not account for this association, which could represent a drug effect or reflect differences not assessed in this study between antidepressant users and nonusers.