I remember the endocrinologist who diagnosed my diabetes told me there wasn't one body part that wasn't affected by the disease. It also seems the body parts that exist furthest from one another are linked when it comes to diabetes.The June 2007 issue of Diabetes Care published the results of a recent study out of Britain in which 253 diabetics with their first foot ulcer were assessed for depression. One-third of them suffered from clinical depression; 24.1 percent had major depressive disorder and 8.1 percent had minor depression. Eighteen months later, there had been 40 deaths, 36 amputations, and 99 recurrences of ulcer. Those who were considered depressed were found to be three times more likely to have died.
The study did not indicate whether the subjects were depressed about their foot ulcer, having diabetes, or something else altogether.
