Latinos have higher risk of diabetes – warning symptoms may include anxiety and depression

By Rebecca Coxon

According to a study presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression may be a precursor to diabetes in Latinos more so than other ethnic groups.

The study examined the medical records of 129 adults diagnosed with diabetes in California and compared the ratio of mood disorders in diabetic Latinos to determine which developed first.

The research showed that among men 54% developed diabetes first while 24% developed depression first. Among women, 59% developed diabetes first and 29% depression first.

Among those with an anxiety disorder, 54% of men and 55% of women developed diabetes first, compared with a respective 45% and 39% who developed anxiety first.

Diabetes is a large scale problem in the United States, particularly for those of Latino and Mexican origin. The California Department of Public Health revealed the statistics that 10.4% of all Mexican Americans over 20 years or older have diabetes (type 1 and type 2) and 11% percent of adult Californian Latinos in particular have been diagnosed with diabetes of which 67% are type 2 diabetes.

After cardiovascular diseases and cancer, diabetes is the third most costly diet and inactivity related disease, costing the United States 174 billion dollars per year.

Compared to non-Hispanic whites, the prevalence of diabetes is 1.8 times higher among Mexican Americans.

The Los Angeles Times reported that ‘While doctors are typically aware that someone with diabetes is at higher risk for depression, they may not look for mood disorders as a risk factor for developing diabetes -- especially anxiety’.

Researches do not know why diabetes and mood disorders often appear together but the study has led to warnings that Latinos with mood disorders should be observed in order to try and prevent diabetes in the future or detect it early in its onset.

‘Poor motivation, poor eating habits, and lack of impulse control in patients with mood and anxiety symptoms could be considered as contributing factors for the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes,’ said the researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

When not properly treated, diabetes can lead to blindness, heart disease, amputation and even death. But the illness often goes undiagnosed for many years due to the lack of distinguishable symptoms which often only include ordinary complaints such as increased thirst, passing urine frequently and tiredness.

According to Diabetes UK, 4% of the UK population were registered with diabetes in 2009 with an above average total of 5.1% in England alone.

The charity claims that ‘In addition to the 2.6 million people diagnosed with diabetes, there are still up to half a million people who have Type 2 diabetes in the UK and don’t know it.’

Risk Factors

They state that the risk factors for the more common Type 2 diabetes include:

Being overweight or having a large waist (37”+ for men, except those of South Asian origin who are at risk at 35”+ and 31.5”+ for all women)
Being of Black or South Asian origin
Having a family history of the condition
Being over 40 years old, or over 25 if you’re Black, Asian or from an ethnic minority group.