Although diabetes, depression, and renal disease are all distinct illnesses, they are connected.
Together, they occur frequently. It’s critical to keep in mind that, like diabetes and kidney disease, depression is a medical illness that can be managed. Both diabetes and depression can worsen one another. Both of them may hasten the development of renal disease.
According to a study1 by the European Depression in Diabetes (EDID) Research Consortium, there is a connection between depression and blood vessel abnormalities brought on by diabetes in the brain. Even while not everyone has depression, those who receive therapy for it frequently benefit from it.
As stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with diabetes have a two- to three-fold higher risk of developing depression than people without the disease. Diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, raises the risk of developing chronic renal disease (CKD). Approximately one in three persons with diabetes who are also CKD carriers.
Diabetes can cause a number of problems, including:
- elevated blood sugar
- high blood pressure
- elevated cholesterol
It all starts with consistently high blood sugar levels since they can damage and harden the walls of your blood vessels. Blood pressure is raised as a result. Your cholesterol levels may alter as a result of elevated blood sugar, with your good cholesterol becoming excessively low and your bad cholesterol becoming excessively high. High blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels can all affect how well your kidneys are supplied with blood. This may result in CKD.
According to a 2016 research of American veterans with diabetes, individuals who also experienced co-occurring depression had a 20% increased risk of acquiring chronic kidney disease. Participants in the study who experienced depression had a higher risk of dying from any reason.
The impact of depression on existing renal disease was investigated in a 2021 study. It followed 486 individuals with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease who were divided into groups based on their depression levels. According to the study, mild to severe depression raised the likelihood of developing end-stage renal disease by 12.4% and 45.1%, respectively.
Treatment options exist for all three ailments. Even one condition’s treatment can make the others better. For instance, receiving treatment for depression may offer you the drive and inspiration you need to follow your diabetes care plan. Your CKD’s progression may be slowed or even stopped as a result of this.
None of this has to be done by you alone. Together with you, a healthcare professional can develop a treatment strategy for each of the three ailments.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
