Associations between depression and health status indicators among culturally diverse patients with type 2 diabetes

Depression has been linked with negative health indicators, including higher BMI, higher blood glucose levels, and hypertension (Anderson, 2001; Sacco, 2007; Artinian, 2006). It is not clear if these associations similarly occur among culturally diverse adults with type 2 diabetes. Thus, in this study the associations between depression and several health status indicators were examined. Research participants were 130 culturally diverse adults (91 patients from African American descent and 29 patients from non-Hispanic White descent) with type 2 diabetes. The research procedure involved administering the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the McGill Pain Questionnaire and the Strain Questionnaire (a stress measure) to the research participants and assessing these participants' blood pressure, weight, hip circumference, and blood glucose levels. of Results revealed that participants' levels of depression had significant positive associations with their subjective experience of pain (r = .40, p < .01), (b) overall levels of stress (r = .60, p < .001), hip circumference (r = .20, p < .05), diastolic blood pressure readings (r = .30, p < .01), and weight (r = .20, p < .05). Surprisingly, no significant relationship was found between participants' levels of depression and their levels of blood glucose. Implications of these findings for health promotion among adults with Type 2 diabetes and for future research are presented.