The Global Impact of Diabetes and Depression: A Brief Review

Diabetes is considered to be the seventh leading cause of death, globally. For several decades the worldwide incidence of diabetes has escalated. There are over 400 million people worldwide with a diagnosis of diabetes. Complications associated poor management of diabetes is also costly. In fact, the worldwide expense to care for people with diabetes has been estimated to be over eight billion U.S. dollars. People with diabetes often have comorbid conditions such as depression. In fact, it has been estimated that those with diabetes have a two times greater risk of being diagnosed with depression. Greater mortality is projected for people with a diagnosis of both diabetes and depression. In addition, there is an increase in the cost to care for those with comorbid conditions of diabetes and depression. Since diabetes and depression are costly conditions to manage, the design of innovative programs to prevent and effectively manage the conditions should be beneficial.