Goins RT, et al. – In this study involving data from 222 older (aged ≥ 55 years) American Indians with type 2 diabetes (T2D) from the Native Elder Care Study, researchers investigated the link between depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality. They used the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale to measure depressive symptoms. To determine the aforementioned link, the researchers used Cox proportional hazard models. Higher mortality was demonstrated by survival curves in people in the third and fourth CES-D scale categories vs those in the first and second categories. For individuals with CES-D scale scores in the third highest vs the lowest category, a significantly higher death risk was reported following adjustment for demographic features, health behaviors, obesity, and prevalent T2D complications. A positive link with mortality was revealed upon analyses with the CES-D scale as a continuous variable. The effect of mental health on older American Indians with T2D is often overlooked, but it is imperative to clinical and public health practice. The researchers findings from this study emphasized the importance of addressing the mental healthcare needs of this patient population, especially given that depression in older patients is often undetected or suboptimally treated.