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. 2024 Aug 22;19(8):e0307428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307428

Association between prediabetes and depression: A meta-analysis

Yi Yu 1,, Weitao Wan 2,‡,*
Editor: Anselm J M Hennis3
PMCID: PMC11340969  PMID: 39172897

Abstract

Background

Previous studies evaluating the association between prediabetes and depression have shown inconsistent results. Consequently, the aim of the systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether prediabetes is associated with depression in the general population.

Methods

Relevant observational studies were obtained by searching the Medline, Web of Science, and Embase databases. A random-effects model was utilized to pool the results by incorporating the influence of heterogeneity. Multiple subgroup analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of the study characteristics on the outcome.

Results

Sixteen large-scale cross-sectional studies involving 322,863 participants were included. Among the total participants, 82,154 (25.4%) had prediabetes. The pooled results showed that prediabetes was associated with a higher prevalence of depression in this population (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05 to 1.28, p = 0.003; I2 = 58%). Subgroup analysis showed a stronger association between prediabetes and depression in younger subjects (<50 years old, OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.50) than that in older subjects (≥50 years old, OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.10; p for subgroup difference = 0.03). Other study characteristics, such as the study country, sex of the participants, definition of prediabetes, methods for the detection of depression, and study quality score, did not seem to significantly affect the results (p for subgroup difference all > 0.05).

Conclusions

Prediabetes may be associated with a slightly higher prevalence of depression in the general population, particularly in subjects aged <50 years old.

Introduction

Depression is a common affective disorder in patients with chronic diseases [13]. As a common metabolic disorder, the prevalence of diabetes has increased in recent decades in both developing and developed countries [4]. Accumulating evidence suggests that people with diabetes have an increased risk of depression [5, 6]. In a previous meta-analysis, it was shown that approximately more than half of patients with diabetes suffer from depression [7]. In children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, the pooled prevalence of depression was reported to be nearly 30% [8]. Interestingly, subsequent studies suggest that the association between diabetes and depression seems to be bidirectional [911]. Besides a high prevalence of depression in patients with diabetes, it is also shown that various measures of depression could be used to predict the risk of type 2 diabetes, such as depression as evidenced by symptom scales, patient diagnosis, face-to-face interviews, and the use of antidepressants [12]. With the recent research advances in the field of diabetology, an intermediate state of hyperglycemia between normoglycemia and diabetes has been proposed, which is termed as prediabetes [13, 14]. Clinically, prediabetes refers to the status of impaired glucose regulation before a diagnosis of diabetes, which includes impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and mildly elevated glycolated hemoglobin (HbA1c: 5.7% to 6.4%) [15]. Similar to diabetes, people with prediabetes have also been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases [16]. In view of the close relationship between diabetes and depression, it is interesting to determine if prediabetes is also associated with depression in the general population [17]. However, the results of previous studies were not consistent [1833]. Some of them supported that prediabetes was related to depression [2427, 29, 30], while other studies did not found a statistically significant association [1823, 28, 3133]. In addition, these studies are with populations from various places and of different study definitions and methodologies for evaluating prediabetes and depression [1833]. It remains unknown whether these factors may influence the association between prediabetes and depression. Consequently, in this study, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether prediabetes is associated with depression in the general population.

Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) [34, 35] and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses [36] were followed in this meta-analysis during the study design, data collection, statistical analysis, and results interpretation.

Literature search

To identify studies relevant to the aim of the meta-analysis, we searched the Medline, Web of Science, and Embase databases utilizing comprehensive search terms involving: (1) "prediabetes" OR "pre-diabetes" OR "prediabetic" OR "pre-diabetic" OR "prediabetic state" OR "borderline diabetes" OR "impaired fasting glucose" OR "impaired glucose tolerance" OR "IFG" OR "IGT"; and (2) "depression" OR "depressive". The search terms were based on key words rather than MeSH terms to improve the sensitivity of the database search. However, a comparison with MeSH terms was performed before database search to ensure all relevant MeSH terms are included in the search terms.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

The inclusion criteria for the potential studies were: (1) large-scale observational studies published as full-length articles (sample size ≥ 1000); (2) studies conducted in adults (18 years and older); (3) prediabetes and depression were evaluated with the same methods and diagnostic criteria in accordance with those used in the original studies; and (4) reported the prevalence/incidence of depression compared between participants with prediabetes versus normoglycemia in a multivariate analysis, as well at least adjusting for age and sex.

The exclusion criteria were: (1) small-scale studies, studies including patients who were diagnosed with specific diseases rather than a general population, or studies with univariate analysis; (2) studies did not evaluate prediabetes or did not report depression; or (3) preclinical studies, reviews, or editorials. If studies with overlapping populations were retrieved, the one with the largest sample size was included for the meta-analysis.

The search was limited to studies in humans. Also, we only considered studies published as full-length articles in peer-reviewed journals in English. In addition, the references of related original and review articles were also manually screened for identifying potentially related studies. The literatures published from the inception of the databases to December 8, 2023 were screened.

Study quality evaluation and data extraction

The processes for the literature search, study identification, study quality evaluation, and data collection were independently conducted by two authors. In case of disagreement, the two authors discussed it to reach a consensus. We used the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) [37] for assessing the quality of the included studies. This scale consisted of three aspects, including selection of the population, control of confounders, and outcome measurement and analysis. The total NOS scores ranged from 1 to 9, with 9 indicating the best quality. The following data were extracted from each study for subsequent analysis: the study information (author, year, country, and design), participant characteristics (sample size, age, and sex), diagnosis of prediabetes (definition and number of participants with prediabetes), diagnosis of depression (methods and number of participants with depression), and variables adjusted when the association between prediabetes and depression was reported.

Statistics

The association between prediabetes and depression was summarized as the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). By using 95% CIs or p-values, the ORs and standard errors (SEs) could be calculated, while a subsequent logarithmical transformation kept the variance stabilized and normalized. The Cochrane Q test and I2 statistics were used to estimate study heterogeneity [38], with significant heterogeneity reflected by I2 > 50%. The results were combined using a random-effects model incorporating heterogeneity’s influence [36]. Sensitivity analyses by omitting one study at a time were performed to investigate the robustness of the findings. Predefined subgroup analyses were also performed to evaluate the influences of the study characteristics on the outcome. The medians of the continuous variables were used as the cutoffs for defining the subgroups. The estimation of publication bias underlying the meta-analysis was first achieved by construction of funnel plots and visual inspection of the plot symmetry [39]. An Egger’s regression test was also performed [39]. The statistical analysis was carried out using RevMan (Version 5.1; Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK) and Stata software (version 12.0; Stata Corporation, College Station, TX). A two-sided p < 0.05 suggested statistical significance.

Results

Study inclusion

The process for identifying relevant studies for study inclusion in the meta-analysis is presented in Fig 1. In brief, 2032 potentially relevant records were obtained after comprehensive searches of the three databases, with 433 studies then excluded due to duplication. Subsequently, a screening via considering the titles and abstracts of the remaining records led to the exclusion of a further 1548 studies, mostly because they were not related to the aim of the meta-analysis, leaving 51 studies remaining. Accordingly, the full texts of the remaining 51 studies were read by two independent authors, and 35 of them were further removed for various reasons, as listed in Fig 1. Finally, 16 observational studies remained and were considered to be suitable for the subsequent quantitative analyses [1833].

Fig 1. Flowchart depicting the database search and study inclusion processes.

Fig 1

Overview of the study characteristics

Table 1 presents the summarized characteristics of the included studies. Overall, 16 cross-sectional studies [1833] were included in the meta-analysis. These studies were reported from 2007 to 2023, and performed in Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, China, Bangladesh, Austria, and Korea. All of the studies had large sample sizes, ranging from 1,728 to 229,047. Community-derived general populations were included in all of the included studies except for one study, which enrolled US veterans [23]. The mean ages of the participants were 38.1 to 66.1 years old. As for the definition of prediabetes, IFG was used in three studies [18, 23, 24], IFG and/or IGT were used in ten studies [1922, 2527, 3032], and IFG and/or increased HbA1c (5.7~6.4%) were used in the other three studies [28, 29, 33]. Accordingly, 82,154 (25.4%) of the included subjects had prediabetes. Various scales were used to identify people with depression, with the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 items (PHQ-9) the most commonly used, being applied in six studies [24, 27, 28, 3133]. Multivariate analyses were used among all the included studies when the association between prediabetes and depression was reported, which at least accounted for potential confounding factors, such as age and sex. The NOS of the included studies were seven to nine stars, suggesting an overall good study quality (Table 2).

Table 1. Characteristics of the included studies.

Study Country Design Population Sample size Mean age Male Definition of PreD No. of people with PreD Diagnosis for depression No. of subjects with depression Variables adjusted
years %
Paile 2007 Finland CS Community-derived population 2003 61.5 46.3 IFG and/or IGT 635 BDI 383 Age, sex, BMI, and prevalence of CVD
Knol 2007 The Netherlands CS Community-derived population 4747 39.4 46.7 IFG 671 SCL-90 916 Age, sex, education, BMI, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical exercise, and number of chronic diseases
Holt 2009 UK CS Community-derived population 2995 66.1 52.7 IFG and/or IGT 996 HAD-D 161 Age, sex, BMI, smoking, social class and alcohol consumption
Aujla 2009 UK CS Community-derived population 6009 58 47.4 IFG and/or IGT 855 WHO-5 1231 Age, sex, BMI, smoking, WC, exercise, and Index of Multiple Deprivation score
Gale 2010 The US CS US veterans 4293 38.8 100 IFG 492 MMPI 276 Age, ethnicity, clinical characteristics, and health behaviors, intelligence, educational attainment, and household income
Poongothai 2010 India CS Community-derived population 23787 38.1 49.3 IFG 7657 PHQ-9 3391 Age, sex, BMI, hypertension, and SES
Bouwman 2010 The Netherlands CS Community-derived population 2667 53.4 47.3 IFG and/or IGT 425 CES-D 348 Age, sex, education, family history of DM, TG, HDL-C, TC, hypertension, smoking, and WC
Tsai 2012 China CS Community-derived population 9561 46.3 61.1 IFG and/or IGT 2440 BSRS-50 NR Age, sex, BMI, marital status, educational level, hypertension, SCr, TG, and HDL-C, current smoking and alcohol use, regular exercise, and family history of DM
Sun 2015 China CS Community-derived population 229047 57.4 34.4 IFG and/or IGT 59512 PHQ-9 10994 Age, sex, BMI, HbA1c, physical activity, smoking and alcohol drinking status, education level, occupation and marital status
Natasha 2015 Bangladesh CS Community-derived population 2293 41.8 36.7 IFG and/or IGT 197 MARDS 351 Age, sex, marital status, BMI, waist to hip ratio, physical activity, and hypertension
Albertorio 2017 The US CS Community-derived population 7717 53.5 49.3 IFG or HbA1c (5.7~6.4%) 2024 PHQ-9 216 Age, sex education, race-ethnicity, poverty, and BMI
Breyer 2019 Austria CS Community-derived population 11014 44.9 47.8 IFG or HbA1c (5.7~6.4%) 2225 HAD-D NR Age, sex, smoking, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG
Xu 2021 China CS Community-derived population 1728 40.1 38.4 IFG and/or IGT 536 PHQ-9 83 Age, sex, BMI, physical activity at work, and systolic pressure
Cui 2021 China CS Community-derived population 3300 40.6 40.2 IFG and/or IGT 771 ZSDS 179 Age, sex, area, education, marriage, monthly income, occupation
Yang 2023 Korea CS Community-derived population 4063 52 0 IFG or HbA1c (5.7~6.4%) 1577 PHQ-9 261 Age, SES, alcohol drinking, smoking, BMI, menopausal status
de Ritter 2023 The Netherlands CS Community-derived population 7639 58.8 50 IFG and/or IGT 1141 PHQ-9 328 Age, sex, education, alcohol use, smoking, BMI, physical activity, and healthy diet score, total cholesterol-to-HDL cholesterol ratio, systolic BP, and medications

PreD, prediabetes; CS, cross-sectional; IFG, impaired fasting glucose; IGT, impaired glucose tolerance; HbA1c, glycolated hemoglobin; BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; SCL-90, Symptom Check List 90; HAD-D, Hospital Anxiety and Depression–Depressive symptoms; WHO-5, World Health Organization Five Wellbeing Index 5; MMPI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire 9 items; CES-D, Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; BSRS-50, Questionnaire of Brief Symptoms Rating Scale; MARDS, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale; CIDI, Composite International Diagnostic Interview; ZSDS, Zung self-rating depression scale; BMI, body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; WC, waist circumference; SES, socioeconomic status; DM, diabetes mellitus; TG, triglyceride; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TC, total cholesterol; SCr, serum creatinine; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BP, blood pressure.

Table 2. Study quality evaluation via the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.

Studies Representativeness of the sample Sample size Non-responders Ascertainment of exposure Control for age and sex Control for other confounding factors Independent assessment of the outcome Self-report outcome Statistics reported Total
Paile 2007 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Knol 2007 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 7
Holt 2009 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Aujla 2009 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 7
Gale 2010 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Poongothai 2010 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Bouwman 2010 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Tsai 2012 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 7
Sun 2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Natasha 2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Albertorio 2017 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Breyer 2019 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
Xu 2021 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Cui 2021 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Yang 2023 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
de Ritter 2023 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8

Results of the meta-analysis

Since four of the included studies reported the outcome in men and women separately [21, 22, 30, 32], these datasets were independently included, which meant there were 20 datasets from 16 studies available for the meta-analysis. The pooled results with a random-effects model showed that prediabetes was associated with a higher prevalence of depression in this population (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.28, p = 0.003; I2 = 58%; Fig 2).

Fig 2. Forest plots for the meta-analysis of the association between prediabetes and depression.

Fig 2

Further sensitivity analysis performed by excluding one study at a time showed consistent results (OR: 1.12 to 1.18, p all < 0.05). Further subgroup analysis according to the study country showed similar results (p for subgroup analysis = 0.46; Fig 3A). The subgroup analysis showed a stronger association between prediabetes and depression in younger subjects (<50 years old, OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.50) than that in older subjects (≥50 years old, OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.10; p for subgroup difference = 0.03; Fig 3B). Other study characteristics, such as the sex of the participants (p for subgroup analysis = 0.44; Fig 4A), definition of prediabetes (p for subgroup analysis = 0.70; Fig 4B), methods used for the detection of depression (p for subgroup analysis = 0.13; Fig 5A), and study quality score (p for subgroup analysis = 0.55; Fig 5B), did not seem to significantly affect the results.

Fig 3. Forest plots for the subgroup analyses of the association between prediabetes and depression: A, subgroup analysis according to the study country; and B, subgroup analysis according to the age of the subjects.

Fig 3

Fig 4. Forest plots for the subgroup analyses of the association between prediabetes and depression: A, subgroup analysis according to the sex of the subjects; and B, subgroup analysis according to the definition of prediabetes.

Fig 4

Fig 5. Forest plots for the subgroup analyses of the association between prediabetes and depression: A, subgroup analysis according to the scales used for the diagnosis of depression; and B, subgroup analysis according to the study quality score.

Fig 5

Publication bias evaluation

The funnel plots for the meta-analysis of the association between prediabetes and depression were symmetrical upon visual inspection, indicating a low risk of publication bias (Fig 6). The results of Egger’s regression test (p = 0.55) also suggested a low risk of publication bias.

Fig 6. Funnel plots for the meta-analysis of the association between prediabetes and depression.

Fig 6

Discussion

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we synthesized the evidence from 16 high-quality observational studies and found that compared to people with normoglycemia, those with prediabetes were associated with a slightly higher prevalence of depression. In addition, subgroup analysis according to age showed that the association between prediabetes and depression may be stronger in younger people <50 years old compared to older people aged over 50 years old. Subgroup analysis according to other study characteristics, such as the study country, sex of the participants, definition of prediabetes, methods used for the diagnosis of depression, and study quality scores, did not significantly change the results. Taken together, the results of the meta-analysis indicate that prediabetes may be associated a slightly higher prevalence of depression in the general population, particularly in subjects aged <50 years old.

To the best of our knowledge, few meta-analyses have been performed to evaluate the association between prediabetes and depression. Although, one early meta-analysis that included five observational studies suggested that impaired glucose metabolism was not associated with the development of depressive symptoms [17]. However, due to the limited number of available studies, no subgroup analysis could be performed. Compared to the previous meta-analysis, this current study has a few methodological strengths to highlight. First, an extensive literature search was performed in three commonly used electronic databases, which retrieved 16 large-scale high-quality studies according to the aim of the meta-analysis. We only included large-scale studies with a sample size of at least 1000 to minimize the potential bias that can arise in small-scale studies. In addition, because depression is closely related to somatic diseases and multimorbidity [40], we focused on the general population, and excluded patients with specific diagnoses of diseases to avoid the confounding effects of comorbidities. Moreover, all of the included studies used multivariate analysis when the association between prediabetes and depression was determined, with adjustment for age, sex, and related socioeconomic status, which could minimize the confounding effects of these factors. Finally, multiple sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed, and returned consistent results, further validating the robustness of the findings. Collectively, these results highlight the association between glycemic metabolism disorders in the development of depression symptoms, which may occur in prediabetes, even before the diagnosis of diabetes.

There are several hypotheses regarding the mechanisms underlying the association between prediabetes and depression. Persistent mildly hyperglycemia in prediabetes has been linked to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress [41], which has also been revealed in the pathogenesis of affective disorders, such as depression [42]. In addition, it has also been suggested that hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in prediabetes could lead to neuroendocrine changes, which may finally stimulate the development of depression [43]. Moreover, similar to type 2 diabetes [44], prediabetes is also associated with cerebral microvascular dysfunction, which is also associated with a higher risk of depression [45]. However, it has to be mentioned that the above hypotheses have been rarely investigated in preclinical or clinical studies, and efforts are still needed to clarify the potential mechanisms underlying the association between prediabetes and depression.

The association between diabetes and depression is considered to be bidirectional [911]. Similarly, it is important to determine if the association between prediabetes and depression is also bidirectional. If the hypothesis is confirmed, this bidirectional relationship could suggest that there may be shared underlying mechanisms linking these two conditions, such as inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation, and lifestyle factors. Furthermore, understanding this bidirectional relationship can inform future research directions and interventions aimed at preventing and managing both prediabetes and depression.

This study also has some limitations to note. First, all of the included studies were cross-sectional studies, which could not aid determining whether prediabetes is a risk factor for the development of depression. Prospective studies are needed in the future to address this issue. Secondly, the meta-analysis protocol was not registered in advance, which could affect the transparency of the methods. Thirdly, the definition of prediabetes and the diagnostic methods for depression varied among the included studies, which may be an important source of heterogeneity. However, as far as we know, the optimal definition of prediabetes and scale for evaluating depression remain to be established. Moreover, although the results were based on the data from multivariate analysis, we could not exclude the possibility that there are still unadjusted factors that may confound the association between prediabetes and depression, such as dietary and nutritional factors. For example, vitamin D deficiency has been related to both prediabetes [46] and depression [47], which therefore may confound the association between prediabetes and depression in the general population. In addition, other confounding factors such as family history, the presence of other comorbid conditions that might predispose to depression and life events need to be considered, especially given the cross-sectional nature of the studies included. However, since these factors were generally not reported in the included studies, we could not determine if they might have affected the results of the meta-analysis. Finally, the results of the meta-analysis showed that prediabetes is only associated with a mildly increased prevalence of depression, the clinical relevance of which remains to be determined.

Conclusions

As a summary, results of the meta-analysis indicate that the prevalence of depression is slightly increased in people with prediabetes compared to those with normoglycemia, particularly in younger participants <50 years old. Large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed to determine if prediabetes is a risk factor for depression in general population.

Acknowledgments

We thank Medjaden Inc. for scientific editing of this manuscript.

Data Availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

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Decision Letter 0

Anselm J M Hennis

22 Apr 2024

PONE-D-24-07500Association between prediabetes and depression: A meta-analysisPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wan,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

This study contributes to current knowledge about associations between depression and metabolic conditions, in this case, prediabetes. However, as the reviewers indicate clarity is needed on a number of issues including the role of confounding, the interpretation of the potential bidirectionality between prediabetes and depression and whether these findings support causality. A critical interpretation of the relevance of the selected studies to the outcomes would also be helpful, given that they take place in several populations and are cross sectional.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Jun 06 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

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If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Anselm J. M. Hennis, MBBS, MSc, PhD, FRCP

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2023.1117846/full

In your revision ensure you cite all your sources (including your own works), and quote or rephrase any duplicated text outside the methods section. Further consideration is dependent on these concerns being addressed.

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

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**********

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Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The bases for conducting this review and meta-analysis are clear and solid. To better understand how previous studies on the relationship between prediabetes and depression are inconsistent, it is suggested to expand on the idea that they are inconsistent. Furthermore, considering that references 18-33 are studies with populations from various places and methodologies, this aspect could be briefly mentioned.

The objective of the review and meta-analysis is clear.

Methodological guidelines for review and meta-analysis are appropriate (PRISMA and Cochrane). It is striking that the manuscript does not detail whether the review protocol was published in Prospero or elsewhere. Presenting the protocol before data extraction promotes transparency of methods and reduces biases, which can be reviewed, and unnecessary duplication of effort between researchers.

Regarding the search terms, it is suggested to indicate whether they were compared with the MeSH terms.

Recommends that this entire paragraph be part of the “inclusion and exclusion criteria” (not the literature search): “the search was limited to studies in humans. Furthermore, we only considered studies published as full articles in peer-reviewed journals in English. As a complement, references of related original and review articles were manually examined to identify potentially related studies. Publications published from the inception of the databases to December 8, 2023 were examined.”

Given the results of the meta-analysis in the conclusions, it is suggested that prediabetes was associated with a slightly higher prevalence of depression.

The final statement of the conclusions is risky in light of these results since it suggests a causal relationship that the study has not determined. With these results, it is not possible to conclude that disorders of glycemic metabolism develop symptoms of depression.

Reviewer #2: Very useful study. Other confounding factorssuch as family history, the presence of other comorbid condirions that might predispose to depression and life events need to be considered. especially given the cross-sectional nature of the studies included. The time used may have been somewhat restrictive. In the introduction, the need to appreciate the bidirectional relationship of diabetes and depression and how this may have influenced the findings reported in the meta-analysis should also have been included.

**********

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Olga Toro-Devia

Reviewer #2: No

**********

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PLoS One. 2024 Aug 22;19(8):e0307428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307428.r002

Author response to Decision Letter 0


7 May 2024

Dear Dr. Hennis and the reviewers of Plos One,

Thank you very much for your comments on our manuscript entitled “Association between prediabetes and depression: A meta-analysis” (PONE-D-24-07500). These comments are valuable for improving the quality of our work. We have revised the manuscript accordingly, with changes highlighted in red font. A detailed response letter has also been attached for your reference. Your further consideration is highly appreciated.

Look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Best regards,

Corresponding author:

Weitao Wan

Department of Psychiatry, Tianyou Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 9, Tujialing, Dingziqiao Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei, China. E-mail: wwt686@sohu.com

Reviewer #1:

(1) The bases for conducting this review and meta-analysis are clear and solid. To better understand how previous studies on the relationship between prediabetes and depression are inconsistent, it is suggested to expand on the idea that they are inconsistent. Furthermore, considering that references 18-33 are studies with populations from various places and methodologies, this aspect could be briefly mentioned.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We have briefly expanded the description of the inconsistent results of the previous studies as suggested in the revised Introduction part as “However, the results of previous studies were not consistent [18-33]. Some of them supported that prediabetes was related to depression [24-27, 29, 30], while other studies did not found a statistically significant association [18-23, 28, 31-33]. In addition, these studies are with populations from various places and of different study definitions and methodologies for evaluating prediabetes and depression [18-33]. It remains unknown whether these factors may influence the association between prediabetes and depression”.

(2) The objective of the review and meta-analysis is clear.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments.

(3) Methodological guidelines for review and meta-analysis are appropriate (PRISMA and Cochrane). It is striking that the manuscript does not detail whether the review protocol was published in Prospero or elsewhere. Presenting the protocol before data extraction promotes transparency of methods and reduces biases, which can be reviewed, and unnecessary duplication of effort between researchers.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. The protocol of the manuscript was not registered prospectively. We have clarified this in the revised manuscript as a limitation of the study.

(4) Regarding the search terms, it is suggested to indicate whether they were compared with the MeSH terms.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. The search terms were based on key words of rather than MeSH terms to improve the sensitivity of the database search. However, a comparison with MeSH terms was performed before database search to ensure all relevant MeSH terms are included in the search terms. This has been clarified in the revised Methods part.

(5) Recommends that this entire paragraph be part of the “inclusion and exclusion criteria” (not the literature search): “the search was limited to studies in humans. Furthermore, we only considered studies published as full articles in peer-reviewed journals in English. As a complement, references of related original and review articles were manually examined to identify potentially related studies. Publications published from the inception of the databases to December 8, 2023 were examined.”

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We have removed this paragraph from “literature search” to “inclusion and exclusion criteria” as requested.

(6) Given the results of the meta-analysis in the conclusions, it is suggested that prediabetes was associated with a slightly higher prevalence of depression.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We have revised the conclusions in the abstract and the manuscript as suggested to emphasize that prediabetes was associated with a slightly higher prevalence of depression.

(7) The final statement of the conclusions is risky in light of these results since it suggests a causal relationship that the study has not determined. With these results, it is not possible to conclude that disorders of glycemic metabolism develop symptoms of depression.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We have deleted this sentence accordingly.

Reply to Reviewer #2

(1) Other confounding factors such as family history, the presence of other comorbid conditions that might predispose to depression and life events need to be considered, especially given the cross-sectional nature of the studies included.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We agreed with the reviewer on that other confounding factors such as family history, the presence of other comorbid conditions that might predispose to depression and life events need to be considered, especially given the cross-sectional nature of the studies included. However, since these factors were generally not reported in the included studies, we could not determine if they may affect the results of the meta-analysis. We have acknowledged this as a limitation of the study in the revised Discussion.

(2) The time used may have been somewhat restrictive.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. All studies published from database inception to the last search (December 8, 2023) were screened for possible relevance, which has been clarified in the methods part. With all respect, we believe the time used was not restrictive.

(2) In the introduction, the need to appreciate the bidirectional relationship of diabetes and depression and how this may have influenced the findings reported in the meta-analysis should also have been included.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We have mentioned in the introduction that “Interestingly, subsequent studies suggest that the association between diabetes and depression seems to be bidirectional [9-11]. Besides a high prevalence of depression in patients with diabetes, it is also shown that various measures of depression could be used to predict the risk of type 2 diabetes, such as depression as evidenced by symptom scales, patient diagnosis, face-to-face interviews, and the use of antidepressants [12]”. In addition, we have added some descriptions for the potential bidirectional relationship between prediabetes and depression in the revised Discussion part and to highlight the importance of this hypothesis on the interpretation of the meta-analysis, as “The association between diabetes and depression is considered to be bidirectional. Similarly, it is important to determine if the association between prediabetes and depression is also bidirectional. If the hypothesis is confirmed, this bidirectional relationship could suggest that there may be shared underlying mechanisms linking these two conditions, such as inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation, and lifestyle factors. Furthermore, understanding this bidirectional relationship can inform future research directions and interventions aimed at preventing and managing both prediabetes and depression”.

Attachment

Submitted filename: PONE-D-24-07500R1 Reply Letter.docx

pone.0307428.s001.docx (21.2KB, docx)

Decision Letter 1

Anselm J M Hennis

11 Jun 2024

PONE-D-24-07500R1Association between prediabetes and depression: A meta-analysisPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wan,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

Thank you for reviewing and modifying the manuscript according to the recommendations of the reviewers. There are a few issues that still need to be addressed, chiefly grammatical in nature, and as follows:

line 93: ... search terms were based on key words [of - Delete please] rather than MESH terms

lines 100-101: Please amend text: studies conducted in adults (18 years and older)....

lines 114-115: As a supplementation - this is not grammatical - please amend..

line 121-123: and data collection were independently conducted by two authors. If disagreement occurred, a consultation with the corresponding author was carried out to resolve the disagreement. - There are in fact only two authors, and so following the decision of one author could potentially introduce biases - please clarify.

lines 277-278: Please correct 'second' to secondly;

The text 'Not registered prospectively which may influence the transparency of the Methods'.... is not grammatical and needs to be amended;

Please correct 'third' to thirdly.

line 292: please correct text to.... 'if they might have affected'

line 303: please correct to 'risk factor for depression'... ==============================

Please submit your revised manuscript by Jul 26 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

  • A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.

  • A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.

  • An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Anselm J. M. Hennis, MBBS, MSc, PhD, FRCP

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

PLoS One. 2024 Aug 22;19(8):e0307428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307428.r004

Author response to Decision Letter 1


20 Jun 2024

Dear Dr. Hennis and the reviewers of Plos One,

Thank you very much for your comments on our manuscript entitled “Association between prediabetes and depression: A meta-analysis” (PONE-D-24-07500R1). These comments are valuable for improving the quality of our work. We have revised the manuscript accordingly, with changes highlighted in red font. A detailed response letter has also been attached for your reference. Your further consideration is highly appreciated.

Look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Best regards,

Corresponding author:

Weitao Wan

Department of Psychiatry, Tianyou Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 9, Tujialing, Dingziqiao Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei, China. E-mail: wwt686@sohu.com

line 93: ... search terms were based on key words [of - Delete please] rather than MESH terms

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly.

lines 100-101: Please amend text: studies conducted in adults (18 years and older)....

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly.

lines 114-115: As a supplementation - this is not grammatical - please amend..

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised as “In addition, the references of related original and review articles were also manually screened for identifying potentially related studies”.

line 121-123: and data collection were independently conducted by two authors. If disagreement occurred, a consultation with the corresponding author was carried out to resolve the disagreement. - There are in fact only two authors, and so following the decision of one author could potentially introduce biases - please clarify.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. We apologize for the inaccurate expression in this sentence. In case of disagreement, the two authors discussed it to reach a consensus. This has been revised in the manuscript.

lines 277-278: Please correct 'second' to secondly;

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly as “Secondly, the meta-analysis protocol was not registered in advance, which could affect the transparency of the methods”

The text 'Not registered prospectively which may influence the transparency of the Methods'.... is not grammatical and needs to be amended;

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly as “Secondly, the meta-analysis protocol was not registered in advance, which could affect the transparency of the methods”

Please correct 'third' to thirdly.

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly.

line 292: please correct text to.... 'if they might have affected'

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly.

line 303: please correct to 'risk factor for depression'...

Author’s reply: Thank you for your comments. This sentence has been revised accordingly.

Attachment

Submitted filename: Response letter.docx

pone.0307428.s002.docx (18.9KB, docx)

Decision Letter 2

Anselm J M Hennis

5 Jul 2024

Association between prediabetes and depression: A meta-analysis

PONE-D-24-07500R2

Dear Dr. Wan,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice will be generated when your article is formally accepted. Please note, if your institution has a publishing partnership with PLOS and your article meets the relevant criteria, all or part of your publication costs will be covered. Please make sure your user information is up-to-date by logging into Editorial Manager at Editorial Manager® and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. If you have any questions relating to publication charges, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Anselm J. M. Hennis, MBBS, MSc, PhD, FRCP

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Thank you for responding to the concerns raised.

Reviewers' comments:

Acceptance letter

Anselm J M Hennis

10 Jul 2024

PONE-D-24-07500R2

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wan,

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now being handed over to our production team.

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* All references, tables, and figures are properly cited

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Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

Kind regards,

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Dr. Anselm J. M. Hennis

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Associated Data

    This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

    Supplementary Materials

    Attachment

    Submitted filename: PONE-D-24-07500R1 Reply Letter.docx

    pone.0307428.s001.docx (21.2KB, docx)
    Attachment

    Submitted filename: Response letter.docx

    pone.0307428.s002.docx (18.9KB, docx)

    Data Availability Statement

    The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.


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