@misc{10481/83964,
year = {2023},
month = {7},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/83964},
abstract = {Background There is sparse evidence on the impact of health information on mental health as well as on the
mechanisms governing this relationship. We estimate the causal impact of health information on mental health via
the effect of a diabetes diagnosis on depression.
Methods We employ a fuzzy regression discontinuity design (RDD) exploiting the exogenous cut-off value of a
biomarker used to diagnose type-2 diabetes (glycated haemoglobin, HbA1c) and information on psycometrically
validated measures of diagnosed clinical depression drawn from rich administrative longitudinal individual-level data
from a large municipality in Spain. This approach allows estimating the causal impact of a type-2 diabetes diagnosis
on clinica ldepression.
Results We find that overall a type-2 diabetes diagnosis increases the probability of becoming depressed, however
this effect appears to be driven mostly by women, and in particular those who are relatively younger and obese.
Results also appear to differ by changes in lifestyle induced by the diabetes diagnosis: while women who did not
lose weight are more likely to develop depression, men who did lose weight present a reduced probability of being
depressed. Results are robust to alternative parametric and non-parametric specifications and placebo tests.
Conclusions The study provides novel empirical evidence on the causal impact of health information on mental
health, shedding light on gender-based differences in such effects and potential mechanisms through changes in
lifestyle behaviours.},
organization = {Spanish Ministry
of Science, Innovation and Universities (grant number PID2019-105688RB-I00)},
organization = {The Tomás y Valiente Fellowship, Madrid Institute for Advanced Study (MIAS),},
organization = {Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM),},
organization = {the Regional Government of Madrid
(grant number H2019/HUM-5793)},
organization = {The Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation
and Universities (grant number PID2019-111765 GB-I00).},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
keywords = {Diabetes},
keywords = {Depression},
keywords = {Fuzzy regression discontinuity design},
keywords = {Administrative longitudinal data},
keywords = {Lifestyle},
title = {Sick and depressed? The causal impact of a diabetes diagnosis on depression},
doi = {10.1186/s13561-023-00451-w},
author = {Gaggero, Alessio and Gil, Joan and Jiménez Rubio, María Dolores and Zucchelli, Eugenio},
}