Psychiatric aspects of diabetes mellitus

Abstract

In 1899, Maudsley wrote:“Diabetes is a disease which often shows itself in families in which insanity prevails: whether one disease predisposes in any way to the other or not, or whether they are independent outcomes of a common neurosis, they are certainly found to run side by side, or alternately with one another more often than can be accounted for by accidental coincidence or sequence”.Recent research confirms that a range of psychological problems and psychiatric disorders are common in people with diabetes. Such problems are important not only because of the suffering caused, but also because of their impact upon the management and outcome of the diabetes itself. This article reviews the psychosocial impact of diabetes and its treatment, describes the range of psychological problems and psychiatric disorders which commonly occur in people with diabetes, and outlines the role of the psychiatrist in the recognition and management of these clinical problems.