Diabetes and Depression

Diabetes, especially the type that onset in adulthood, known as sugar disease, is a prevalent condition in our country. Individuals with diabetes are reported to have a double risk of depression compared to the general population.

Depression can be a consequence of diabetes and, concurrently, a risk factor for diabetes. In other words, individuals untreated for depression have an increased likelihood of developing diabetes. The prolonged disruption of the common neuroendocrine axis between the brain and the adrenal glands, associated with elevated cortisol levels, is implicated in both conditions.

In addition to biological factors, the chronic nature of diabetes, lifestyle changes due to diabetes, and social factors such as impaired quality of life resulting from kidney, eye, and heart diseases caused by diabetes also contribute to the predisposition to depression.

Comparing diabetic patients with and without depression, those with depression show poorer blood sugar control and higher risks of diabetes-related complications. In patients with diabetes and depression receiving appropriate treatment, the three-month average blood sugar level (HbA1C) decreases.

Dr. Tuğba Göncü Akdur, Specialist