The Urban Trainer Blog - UK

ITN - 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.

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.

“The link could be a result of the way psychological distress affects the brain’s role in regulating hormones or perhaps because depression influences a person’s diet and level of physical activity in a negative way.”

There are 2.3 million people in the UK with Type 1 and 2 diabetes, and 300 people are newly-diagnosed each 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.

“This research appears to confirm that there might be something in this.

“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.”