The Big Diabetes Lie
Diabetics often suffer from depression. One study posits that twenty to forty per cent of all diabetics have at least minimal to mild depression at any given time, and that ninety per cent will suffer some degree of depression in any given five-year span.
But which came first -- the diabetes or the depression? There is a lot of evidence that the physical effects of diabetes on metabolism and hormones lead to depression. The near overwhelming task of daily diabetes treatment also lends to a sense of helplessness that can lead to depression.
Now there is some evidence that some degree of depression or emotional stress can be one of the "triggers" for the onset of diabetes. The causes for diabetes are of course far more complex than stress. There are numerous risk factors involved, most of which are more pronounced in the onset of diabetes than emotional stresses. However, that there is a relationship between diabetes and depression is clear.
