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Patients suffering from diabetes may also have common mental disorders. This information has come to light in a study by the New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), in which doctors have found strong evidence of mental disorders in diabetic patients.
Doctors believe that mental disorders are not detected due to lack of timely testing, but this does not mean that diabetic patients are not at risk of these disorders. Doctors from the Department of Community Medicine, Psychiatry and Cardiovascular Biochemistry of Delhi AIIMS, in collaboration with AIIMS, BB Nagar, Telangana, conducted a study on 211 diabetic and 273 non-diabetic patients, which has been published in the Indian Journal of Public Health.
The study was conducted on people from 28 villages in Ballabhgarh area of Faridabad district of Haryana who have been suffering from diabetes for at least one year. In the study, all the facts related to diabetes, depression and anxiety were investigated. After this, the study started on 173 diabetic patients and 175 non-diabetic patients. The findings showed that 67.5% of diabetic patients were diagnosed with mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, compared to 37.5% of non-diabetic people.
Doctors say, this study is indicating the possibility of mental health related problems in almost seven out of 10 diabetic patients, which is a big figure. Doctors also estimated that the incidence of depression in patients with diabetes 1 and 2 may be two to three times higher than the general population worldwide.
Senior Dr. Harshal Ramesh Salve of Delhi AIIMS said, more than 42 crore people across the world are suffering from diabetes. India has the highest number of diabetic patients, hence it is called the diabetes capital of the world. According to the National Urban Diabetes Survey conducted in the metropolitan cities of the country, 12.1% of adults above 20 years of age in India suffer from diabetes. Recently, a study by ICMR-India has also come out, in which 13.6% of people above 20 years of age are suffering from diabetes.
In the study, doctors have concluded that there is a need to work on population based screening program for diabetes and hypertension in the country along with NCDs like depression i.e. common mental disorders. Doctors say, managing common mental disorders and diabetes together is the need of the hour.