Diabetes and the risk of depression

---

Extract from the article: Living with diabetes, a disease that is treated but not cured, is not easy every day. The diagnosis and sometimes difficult management of the disease are all risk factors for developing depression. Dr Abdou Razak Moukaila, Internist and Diabetologist

---

Living with diabetes, a disease that is treated but not cured, is not easy every day. The diagnosis and sometimes difficult management of the disease are all risk factors for developing depression. Dr Abdou Razak Moukaila, Internist and Diabetologist at Hôpital Sainte Joséphine Bakhita (Lomé), shows how to recognise the warning signs.

Once the shock of the diagnosis has been declared, a period of adaptation is needed to learn to live with diabetes. The patient has to accept this new life, which is not always easy. Diabetic patients often go through several phases, says Dr Abdou Razak Moukaila, an internist and diabetes specialist at Hôpital Sainte Joséphine Bakhita in Lomé: « first of all, a sort of annihilation, then rebellion. It's normal to experience certain destabilising emotions in the face of this new condition, which disrupts daily life and can unfortunately lead to depression », emphasises Dr Abdou Razak Moukaila, an internist and diabetes specialist.

Depression: risk factors

The internist and diabetologist points out that being a woman, an adolescent, suffering from a chronic illness, having a limited income and lacking social support, having difficulty controlling your diabetes, having to deal with complications from the disease, taking medication continuously, etc. are all risk factors;Revising daily habits, including adherence to medication schedules, strict diets, regular blood sugar checks, difficulty in taking medication, a healthy lifestyle and follow-up appointments are all factors which mean that diabetes requires a great deal of commitment and investment on the part of the patient if it is to be managed rigorously over the long term. « This situation can be difficult to manage in the first few weeks of discovering the disease, when the patient's plans for the future may be jeopardised by the disease they have just been diagnosed with. These multiple reasons can lead some patients into a phase of depression », notes Dr Abdou Razak Moukaila.

Symptoms in diabetics

« Depression can cause patients to lose interest in their diabetes, leading to poor control and even complications, which in turn aggravate the depression, creating a vicious circle that is very difficult to break.However, depressive feelings, which are normal emotions following the diagnosis of diabetes, should not be confused with major depression.In a major depression, the symptoms last for at least two weeks and disrupt the normal functioning of the individual in their various interactions with their environment: professional life, family life and social life », explains the internist and diabetes specialist.

Fortunately, depression can be treated. That's why it's so important to be able to recognise it and be alert to certain warning signs: « gloomy thoughts, intense and persistent sadness, insomnia, particularly at the end of the night, loss of self-esteem and self-deprecation, lack of desire, loss of libido and energy, changes in appetite », adds the specialist.

Supporting a relative with diabete

If someone close to you is showing symptoms of depression, « it is vital to encourage them to seek help so that the depression can be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible.Family and friends play an important role in the mental health of diabetic patients by providing essential psychological support, as do self-help groups », stresses Dr Abdou Razak Moukaila.This support makes it easier to accept the disease and live with it.

William O.