Evidence mapPaperPMID 40268489Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Impact of antidiabetic medication type on a new episode of depression: a retrospective cohort study in Texas, USA.

Lin-Na Chou, Mukaila A Raji, Holly M Holmes, Yong-Fang Kuo

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Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Lin-Na ChouDepartment of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA lin-na.chou@utah.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0779-714X
Mukaila A RajiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Geriatric Division, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7460-7281
Holly M HolmesGeriatric Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Yong-Fang KuoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Geriatric Division, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.

Funding

UTMB Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence CenterP30AG024832 · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BR GALVESTON · 2005 to 2025
$2.8M
NIA NIH HHS P30 AG024832
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo examine the associations between antidiabetic medication type and a new episode of depression using 100% Texas Medicare database during 2009 and 2018.

designA retrospective cohort study.

settingA population-based study using the Texas Medicare data.

interventions11 common antihyperglycaemic medication types, alone and in combinations: metformin-only, five non-metformin-containing regimens (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP4i) only, sulfonylureas (SU) only, thiazolidinediones (TZD) only, SU/DPP4i and SU/TZD) and five metformin-containing combination treatments (metformin/DPP4i, metformin/SU, metformin/TZD, metformin/SU/DPP4i and metformin/SU/TZD).

participantsThis study included 59 057 type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients from a cohort of Texas Medicare beneficiaries who were aged ≥66 years, had consistent diabetes medication intake, were not diagnosed with depression or prescribed antidepressants during the 2-year look-back period and received regular care from Medicare providers. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The main outcome was a new episode of depression, identified by a new depression diagnosis during the follow-up period.

resultsA total of 59 057 T2D patients (mean (SD) age, 75.4 (6.4) years; 30 798 (52.1%) female) were followed up to 96 months. Of these, 22.5% patients had a new episode of depression at the 5-year follow-up. Compared with the metformin-only group, patients in the non-metformin-containing regimens had a higher risk of new episode depression (HR: 1.17, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.30 for DPP4i-only; HR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.12 for SU-only), but there was no significant difference among patients receiving metformin-containing combination therapy. Metformin/TZD and metformin/SU/DPP4i combination treatments had a lower risk of new episodes of depression than metformin-only (HR: 0.88, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.99 and HR: 0.83, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.98 separately). The same direction of association was observed in sensitivity analyses.

conclusionsThis retrospective cohort study found that T2D patients treated with metformin/TZD and metformin/SU/DPP4i had the lowest risk of new episodes of depression. These findings suggest that certain combinations of metformin with other antidiabetic medications may be associated with a reduced risk of new-onset depression. Therefore, it could be beneficial to incorporate depression risk evaluation into routine diabetes care and consider it in the decision-making process for diabetes medication types, especially when deprescribing metformin.

Indexed as

DepressionDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Hypoglycemic AgentsAgedAged, 80 and overDipeptidyl-Peptidase IV InhibitorsDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansMaleMedicareMetforminRetrospective StudiesSulfonylurea CompoundsTexasThiazolidinedionesDipeptidyl-Peptidase IV InhibitorsHypoglycemic AgentsMetforminSulfonylurea CompoundsThiazolidinedionesDepression & mood disordersEPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIESGeneral diabetes

Identifiers

PMID40268489
PMCPMC12020767

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Texttitle and abstract
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.