[Relationship between diabetes mellitus type 2 and depression]

ABSTRACT

Relation between diabetes and depression is bidirectional. Diabetics are at higher risk for developing depression, which is a risk factor for the onset of type 2 diabetes and its complications. We will illustrate these links through the cases of two patients. The first patient had a major depressive episode that has resisted treatment, and in whom the management of a discovered diabetes has improved the depressive symptoms. The second patient suffered from diabetic complications stabilized after treatment of a neglected depression. Several factors favor the occurrence of depression in diabetic patients the low socioeconomic and education level, loneliness, stress, high levels of glycated hemoglobin and the presence of diabetic complications, especially neuropathic ones. Furthermore, depression can lead to eating disorders and sedentary lifestyle, favoring the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes; depression is also accompanied by biological changes that may increase vulnerability to diabetes. Therapeutic response to antidepressants is probably lower in diabetics