Patients who suffer from depression are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and vice versa, researchers suggest.

A new study led by physicians at John Hopkins Hospital found that patients with elevated symptoms of depression were 42 per cent more likely to develop diabetes than those who did not present signs of the illness.

The researchers highlighted a correlation between the severity of depression in patients and the level of diabetes risk.

According to the study, when other factors such as - weight, lack of exercise and smoking - were taken into account, the risk of developing diabetes was still 34 per cent higher for patients with depressive symptoms.

In addition, the findings revealed that patients treated for diabetes were around 54 per cent more at risk of developing elevated depressive symptoms than those without diabetes.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, diabetes expert and lead researcher Dr Sherita Hill Golden said: "Having both diabetes and depression can make it difficult for patients to get the good clinical outcomes that we like to see for each of these conditions.

"To make sure that patients with diabetes and depression receive the best care, we wanted to get to the bottom of the connection between these two conditions. It's important that doctors be attuned to look for both conditions in patients at risk for either diabetes or depression."

Looking forward Dr Golden suggests the development of interventions for both treatments rather than one or the other individually may be beneficial.

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