Diabetes Information

Nearly 24 million, or about 8% of U.S. children and adults have diabetes. Another 57 million have pre-diabetes. Unfortunately, what people living with mental illness don't realize is that Type 2 diabetes, a disease associated with obesity, is appearing with alarming frequency among the mentally ill.

In fact, among the mentally ill, roughly one in every five appear to develop diabetes - about double the rate of the general population. And unfortunately, the very medications that are supposed to help people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses, antipsychotic drugs, have been linked to swift weight gain and diabetes itself.

Additionally, studies associate the onset of diabetes with depression. The mentally ill are also at high risk for Type 2 diabetes because they tend to eat fattening food, get little exercise and have limited access to health care.

In the HealthyPlace.com Diabetes Community, we have authoritative, in-depth information on all aspects of diabetes; from signs and symptoms to diagnosis and diabetes treatments. We also have a must-read section on diabetes and mental illness written by award-winning mental health writer, Julie Fast. For family members and friends, learn how to support someone with diabetes.

We believe that the more you understand about diabetes, issues like metabolic syndrome and the special relationship between diabetes and mental illness, the more likely you are to get the full benefit of treatment.

And we invite you to join the HealthyPlace.com Diabetes Support Network (our social network). Sometimes, communicating with others who have common experiences or faced similar problems can be a great help as well as a source of comfort.