Diabetes mellitus is associated with a higher risk for major depressive disorder in women than in men

IntroductionBoth diabetes mellitus and being female significantly increase the risk of being diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). The diagnosis of MDD, combined with diabetes mellitus, can be detrimental in terms of mortality and morbidity. We aimed at investigating the impact of diabetes mellitus on the gender gap in MDD over the course of a human lifetime.Research design and methodsIn a cross-sectional study over the course of 17 years, medical claims data of the general Austrian population (n=8 996 916) between 1997 and 2014 was analyzed. Of these, 123 232 patients with diabetes mellitus were extracted and compared with non-diabetic controls.ResultsIn a cohort of 123 232 patients with diabetes mellitus and 1 933 218 controls (52% females, 48% males), women with diabetes had 2.55 times increased ORs to be diagnosed with MDD compared with women without diabetes (95% CI 2.48 to 2.62, p