Chennai: Patients with diabetes are at higher risk for depression, Diabetes can cause complications and health problems that may worsen the symptoms of depression, a factor that many, including doctors, are not aware of.
With this in mind, Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre urged for citizens to stay informed and maintain a positive lifestyle to prevent Depression and other types of depressive disorders.
“Depression leads to poor lifestyle decisions, such as unhealthy eating, less exercise, smoking and weight gain — all of which are risk factors for diabetes. Severe stress during depression causes high Blood Pressure, sugar and thereby produces diabetes. On the other hand, diabetes also produces depression because the moment you tell an individual that he has diabetes and the problems associated with it, it can cause depression. Diabetes producing depression is not uncommon or unknown, but the other way is a recent finding,” said Dr V Mohan, of the Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre.
Stating that it is a bi-directional relationship, he said that by treating the depression, we find that the sugar control improves dramatically and by treating diabetes, depression also improves quite well.
According to the Independent (INtegrating DEpression and Diabetes Treatment in the Clinic) study, funded by the National Institute of Health in the US (NIHU) through its mental health programme ‘National Mental Health Institute’, identifying depression when patients come to meet the doctor can help check it in its initial stage. The study is being conducted at the Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi as well as at centres in Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru.
“People with diabetes are usually most depressed when they are informed that they have diabetes complications such as issues with their eyes or failing organs. Those taking insulin also tends to get depressed. It is, therefore, essential to always have counsellors at hospitals to talk to them and make them feel positive,” said diabetologist Dr Anand Mathew.
It is, therefore, essential to spread awareness on the link especially among doctors and medicos and work upon eliminating the root causes of depression, he added.
