Depression is very common in the general population and even more common among people who have diabetes. Depression is highly variable from person to person, and it ranges from very mild to very severe. The main risk of depression is suicide. The prevalence of depression in industrialized countries is high and getting higher. With the present economic crisis, my personal impression is that the prevalence is even higher in the general population.
Depression is very common among people who have diabetes.
The data we have so far is from comparisons between people with diabetes and normal controls. I have not seen any data comparing diabetes with other chronic illness, particularly with some painful, incapacitating conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, etc. We know a lot about the clinical aspects of depression, but its biochemistry is still a big enigma. What we are quite certain of is that many depressions are mostly chemical imbalances in the brain, and not necessarily due to life events or childhood trauma. Depression can be fatal.