Over a fifth of diabetes patients affected by depression

New research from the Diabetes Forum Survey has found that more than 1 in 5 people with diabetes have depression.
Statistics from a recent survey of Diabetes Forum users revealed that 21.6% are depressed, while just under half (46.5%) have high blood pressure. In addition, over 1 in 5 people (21.7%) have arthritis, 13.2% have nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy) and 1 in 10 people (10.4%) suffer from anxiety problems.
When looking at how long people have been living with diabetes, the figures suggested that those diagnosed within in the last 13 years have a 1 in 5 chance of being depressed.
Depression is the most common mental disorder experienced by people with diabetes. It can lead to poor management of diabetes, which increases the risk of developing both short-term and long-term complications.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of survey respondents reported having type 2 diabetes (67%) with an additional 1.7% at high risk with pre-diabetes. Just over a quarter (26.7%) said they have had type 1 diabetes.
Among those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, 21.2% stated they had depression at some point after diagnosis, more than 1 in 4 (26.3%) have arthritis, 13.8% have heart disease and over half (54.2%) have elevated blood pressure.
For those with insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes, incidence of depression was slightly higher at 25.7%, but reports of high blood pressure were 20% lower at 31.6%. Other commonly reported complications included neuropathy (17.8%), retinopathy (16.8%) and arthritis (12%).
More than 1 in 4 people (27.6%) with type 1 diabetes said they were not diagnosed with any other medical condition, compared to 16.6% of those with type 2 diabetes.
The Diabetes Forum can be found at www.Diabetes.co.uk