Diabetics miss out on mental support, says charity report

Published on Wednesday 8 April 2009 22:08

ABOUT 85 per cent of adults with diabetes in the UK lack access to specialist psychological support, according to a report.

The Minding the Gap report, by the Diabetes UK charity, found that only 25 per cent of diabetes services can actually name and supply contact details for people who provide specialist psychological care.

Of these, only 58.5 per cent of have dedicated psychological services for people with diabetes, which amounts to no more than 15 per cent of diabetes services overall.

Diabetes UK said it was estimated that more than 40 per cent of people with diabetes suffered poor psychological well-being. They said there was consistent evidence of elevated rates of depression and anxiety disorders.

Depression, which is doubled in people with the condition, and other psychological problems such as eating disorders and needle phobias, led to poor diabetes self-care, high blood-glucose levels and subsequent medical complications. These included blindness, heart disease, amputations, strokes and kidney failure.