Association between type 2 diabetes and depressive symptoms after a 1-year follow-up in an older adult Mediterranean population

OBJECTIVES

To examine the cross-sectional association between baseline depressive symptoms and the presence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and its association with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and other metabolic variables, and the prospective association of depressive symptoms and HbA1c after 1 year of follow-up.

METHODS

n = 6224 Mediterranean older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome (48% females, mean age 64.9 ± 4.9 years) were evaluated in the framework of the PREDIMED-Plus study cohort. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II and HbA1c was used to measure metabolic control.

RESULTS

The presence of T2D increased the likelihood of higher levels of depressive symptoms (χ2 = 15.84, p = 0.001). Polynomial contrast revealed a positive linear relationship (χ2 = 13.49, p = 0.001), the higher the depressive symptoms levels, the higher the prevalence of T2D. Longitudinal analyses showed that the higher baseline depressive symptoms levels, the higher the likelihood of being within the HbA1c ≥ 7% at 1-year level (Wald-χ2 = 24.06, df = 3, p < .001, for the full adjusted model). Additionally, depressive levels at baseline and duration of T2D predicted higher HbA1c and body mass index, and lower physical activity and adherence to Mediterranean Diet at 1 year of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports an association between T2D and the severity of depressive symptoms, suggesting a worse metabolic control from mild severity levels in the short-medium term, influenced by lifestyle habits related to diabetes care. Screening for depressive symptoms and a multidisciplinary integrative therapeutic approach should be ensured in patients with T2D.

Long-term outcomes in critically ill patients who survived COVID-19: The NUTRICOVID observational cohort study

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Malnutrition and sarcopenia may last beyond hospital discharge, especially in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), having a negative impact on patient recovery and leading to disability, poor quality of life, and additional morbidity. No prior evidence is available for post-ICU management and follow-up of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and their long-term evolution. This study reports on the one-year-long evolution of a cohort of COVID-19 survivors after ICU discharge, in terms of nutritional and functional status as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

METHODS

A multicenter, ambispective, observational cohort study (NUTRICOVID study) was conducted in 16 public hospitals located in the Community of Madrid with COVID-19 survivors who were admitted to ICU during the first outbreak. Retrospective and prospective data were collected from hospital admission to one year after discharge. At hospital discharge and at 3, 6 and 12 months post-discharge, the following outcomes were recorded: weight, risk of malnutrition (MUST) and sarcopenia (SARC-F), medical nutrition therapy (MNT), functional status (Barthel index), and HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L).

RESULTS

A total of 199 patients (70.4% male, mean age [SD] of 60.7 [10.1]) were included in the study. At hospital discharge, mean weight loss was 16.4% (8.0%), whereas most patients gained weight after discharge with an increase of 16.5% (14.0%) at 12 months. The proportion of patients at high risk of malnutrition decreased from 83.2% at hospital discharge to 2.1% at 12 months. The proportion at risk of sarcopenia decreased from 86.9% at hospital discharge to 13.4% at 12 months. At hospital discharge, 69 patients received MNT by means of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) while two patients required enteral nutrition (EN). At 12 months, only 12 patients continued taking ONS, with no patients taking EN. Regarding functional status, 72.9% of patients were moderately or severely dependent at hospital discharge, whereas 87.2% showed low dependency or independency after 12 months. The EQ-VAS values increased from hospital discharge (39 [21.2]) to 6 months post-discharge and remained steady up to 12 months (72.7 [19.0]). The mean health value improved from hospital discharge (0.25 [0.41]) to 6 months post-discharge (0.80 [0.24]) and was maintained thereafter.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients' nutritional and functional impairment at hospital discharge was high, with high dependency status and low HRQoL; however, their situation improved progressively during the 12 months following hospital discharge. Nevertheless, there is a need to define early strategies to optimize the nutritional and functional recovery of COVID-19 patients.

Intensive Weight-Loss Lifestyle Intervention Using Mediterranean Diet and COVID-19 Risk in Older Adults: Secondary Analysis of PREDIMED-Plus Trial

OBJECTIVES

We tested the effects of a weight-loss intervention encouraging energy-reduced MedDiet and physical activity (PA) in comparison to ad libitum MedDiet on COVID-19 incidence in older adults.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of PREDIMED-Plus, a prospective, ongoing, multicentre randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Community-dwelling, free-living participants in PREDIMED-Plus trial.

PARTICIPANTS

6,874 Spanish older adults (55-75 years, 49% women) with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome.

INTERVENTION

Participants were randomised to Intervention (IG) or Control (CG) Group. IG received intensive behavioural intervention for weight loss with an energy-reduced MedDiet intervention and PA promotion. CG was encouraged to consume ad libitum MedDiet without PA recommendations.

MEASUREMENTS

COVID-19 was ascertained by an independent Event Committee until December 31, 2021. COX regression models compared the effect of PREDIMED-Plus interventions on COVID-19 risk.

RESULTS

Overall, 653 COVID-19 incident cases were documented (IG:317; CG:336) over a median (IQR) follow-up of 5.8 (1.3) years (inclusive of 4.0 (1.2) years before community transmission of COVID-19) in both groups. A significantly lowered risk of COVID-19 incidence was not evident in IG, compared to CG (fully-adjusted HR (95% CI): 0.96 (0.81,1.12)).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no evidence to show that an intensive weight-loss intervention encouraging energy-reduced MedDiet and PA significantly lowered COVID-19 risk in older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome in comparison to ad libitum MedDiet. Recommendations to improve adherence to MedDiet provided with or without lifestyle modification suggestions for weight loss may have similar effects in protecting against COVID-19 risk in older adults with high cardiovascular risks.

Fermented dairy products, diet quality, and cardio-metabolic profile of a Mediterranean cohort at high cardiovascular risk

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Fermented dairy products have been associated with a better diet quality and cardio-metabolic profile. However, in Mediterranean populations, these associations have not been well characterized. The aim of this study was to assess the diet quality and the associations between the consumption of total fermented dairy products and their subtypes and the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) components in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Baseline cross-sectional analyses were conducted on 6,572 men and women (mean age: 65 years) with overweight or obesity and MetS recruited into the PREDIMED-Plus cohort. A 143-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used, and anthropometrical, biochemical, and blood pressure measurements were recorded. Multivariate-adjusted Cox regressions were fitted to analyze the association between quartiles of consumption of fermented dairy products and their subtypes and MetS components to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Participants who were high consumers of fermented dairy products reported a higher consumption of fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts, and whole bread and a lower consumption of white bread, alcohol, and cookies. Participants in the higher quartile showed a lower prevalence of the low HDL-cholesterol component of the MetS (RR=0.88; 95% CI: 0.78-0.98) than those in the lowest quartile of cheese consumption. Cheese consumption was inversely associated with the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia. Total fermented dairy products, yogurt, and its types were not associated with any of the MetS components.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to nonconsumers, participants consuming fermented dairy products reported a better diet quality and, particularly, cheese consumers presented a lower prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-cholesterol plasma levels, which are MetS components.