Purpose: Patients with cancer tend to have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms. The direct relationship between serum glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) levels and depressive symptoms in cancer patients is still uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the association with serum GHb levels with depressive symptoms in the population (aged ≥ 49 years) with cancer.
Patients and Methods: Longitudinal data in 204 participants with cancer obtained from The Irish LongituDinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) were used to investigate the association of serum GHb levels with depressive symptoms.
Results: Our results suggested a positive and significant association between serum GHb levels and depression score, independent of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), currently married, education, smoking status, drink alcohol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), physical activity, self-reported cardiovascular diseases and laboratory measurement in participants with cancer (coefficient =0.141, P< 0.001; Model 2) at baseline (wave 1). Higher GHb levels did associate with higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in participants with cancer (OR=2.100, 95% CI 1.105– 5.036, P=0.004; Model 2) after adjustment for these same confounding factors in wave 1 was made. Stratified analysis further showed that these significant associations were interfered by antidepressants. Sensitivity analysis showed that higher serum GHb levels in subjects with cancer were linked to higher prevalence of depression events during a follow-up of 4 years.
Conclusion: Our results found a significant association between elevated serum GHb levels and increased risk of depressive symptoms in the population aged ≥ 49 years with cancer after confounding factors were adjusted.
Keywords: glycosylated hemoglobin, depression, cancer, middle-aged and elderly