- Explain to patients that it is not known whether type 2 diabetes causes mental health disorders or if they are co-morbidities.
- These studies were published as abstracts and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary as they have not yet been reviewed and published in a peer-reviewed publication.
AMSTERDAM, Sept. 21 -- Type 2 diabetes may be linked to mental health disorders, but age and gender may be contributing factors, according to two separate studies.
Symptoms of depression or psychological stress were associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in men, but not in women, Swedish researchers reported.
A team from Canada said surveillance data suggest that "people with diabetes had a higher prevalence of all mental illnesses compared with people without diabetes."
In particular, they noted, the rate of affective and anxiety disorders was more than 30% higher in people with diabetes who were younger than 50 (P<0.05).
The studies, presented at the meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes here, add to a growing body of evidence linking depression and other mental disorders to diabetes risk.
