Psychosocial therapies for psychiatric disorders and diabetes mellitus

A substantial amount of research has established the significant role of psychosocial factors in diabetes management.1 Many patients have great difficulty with the diagnosis of diabetes, and beyond the psychologic challenges of disease adaptation, many develop psychiatric disorders over the course of diabetes. To the extent they do, such disorders may compromise the ability of patients to effectively manage diabetes. In this chapter, we review the evidence regarding the more common psychiatric disorders affecting individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM), including depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders. Our focus is on describing and evaluating psychosocial therapies for psychiatric disorders among patients with DM, including both type 1 and type 2 DM. We first consider the literature regarding adults, and then focus on research studies conducted with children. While many studies have addressed the role of psychosocial factors in diabetes management, fewer have addressed psychosocial therapies for specific psychiatric disorders.