Researchers in Brazil studied 200 people with diabetes—100 who had type 1 and 100 with type 2—who were of similar age and economic status, and found that nearly 43% had at least one psychiatric disorder. The most common of these were generalized anxiety disorder (21%) and chronic depression (15%). Other conditions included social phobia, other forms of depression, panic disorder, and increased suicide risk. [sidebar]Exactly why diabetics are more prone to mental illness is still unclear. One theory is that having related conditions like chronic pain—in addition to diabetes—can be, well, depressing, adding up to a greater propensity of developing a mood disorder. Other studies have found that some of the medications used to treat psychiatric conditions like social anxiety can actually trigger type 2 diabetes. 5 Best Workouts For Chronic Pain One thing that is clear? More attention should be paid to screening people with diabetes for psychiatric issues, say researchers. The good news is, we’re learning more all the time about the risk factors for diabetes—and many of them are avoidable or reversible. Take our quiz, Do You Know Your Diabetes Risk?, to pinpoint your own risk and safeguard your health.
