Diabetes link to anxiety

Stress and lack of sleep can double a man’s risk of developing diabetes, researchers have found.

A range of symptoms linked to psychological distress contributes to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.

“300 people are newly-diagnosed with diabetes every day.”

The link is independent of other factors including age, body mass index (BMI), family history of diabetes, smoking, physical activity and socio-economic background.Professor Anders Ekbom, who led the study, said: “Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes.

“We already knew that psychological distress and depression are risk factors for heart disease and suspected they may play a part in developing Type 2 diabetes, which is corroborated by this research.

300 people are newly-diagnosed with diabetes every day.

Type 1 usually develops in childhood while Type 2 is linked to lifestyle factors such as obesity.

An extra 500,000 people in the UK have Type 2 diabetes but are unaware of it.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “It is intriguing that the increased risk of diabetes occurs in men only and it would be interesting to find out why.

“The results suggest that it could be due to a hormonal or behavioural influence.

“We already know from previous studies that stress is considered to be a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and others have looked at the link between sleep disorders, such as insomnia, and the condition.

“We know that risk factors which increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes are being white and over 40-years-old, or of black or South Asian origin and over 25, having a family member with the condition, being overweight and having high blood pressure.

“If you have two or more of these risk factors, you should see your GP for a simple test.”