A recently published article suggested that people suffering
from depression could have a higher likelihood of contracting diabetes.
A diagnosis of diabetes can be depressing for a person. Now, some
doctors wonder if the reverse is true: In other words, can depression cause
diabetes?
A team of doctors at the Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis found after a series of several studies that
treating depression may help curb the rising nationwide epidemic of diabetes, as
reported in a story on the Mental Help Net Web site recently.
The doctors in the study claimed that depression
has been linked to excess glucose in the blood, which in turn promotes obesity
and Type II adult-onset diabetes. After diabetic patients in the study were
treated for depression, it was reported that their glucose levels became better
controlled.
Janis Brown, certified diabetes educator for the
Diabetes Center in the Heartland Medical Plaza, said she doesn’t believe
depression causes the disease. It instead might be more of a symptom of the
disease, she said.
“There is a higher incidence of depression in any
chronic disease,” she said. “I don’t think depression causes physical problems.
I think problems come from not taking care of the symptoms.”
Mrs. Brown explained that people could become
more depressed as a result of not keeping glucose levels under control. Lack of
sleep and sluggishness due to high sugar levels may promote depression in many
individuals.
“If they are depressed, maybe they are not eating
healthy or taking their medicine,” she said.
Zafar Mahmood, psychiatrist for the Family
Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare, said depression has a direct link to
a number of physical ailments, such as heart disease.
“There is a very clear link between
cardiovascular diseases and depression, meaning that it has been shown that
people have a very high incidence after depression, especially after a heart
attack,” he said. “But I don’t know whether depression causes diabetes. I’m not
aware of any link between them.”
However, Dr. Mahmood said there are ways that
depression could contribute to diabetes. For instance, a symptom of depression
for some is overeating, which can contribute to diabetes.
“That might predispose people to diabetes,” he said. “But I’ve seen diabetes in lots of people who have never been depressed in their lives.”
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com.
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