Tuesday, February 14, 2012

So What?

"They say, 'you'd be depressed too if you were this sick.' People just assume that depression is a kind of natural reaction, a part of the disease."
Today was my first day at the Scottsdale Healthcare Endocrinology Institute. As my proposal indicates, the majority of my time here will consist of one-on-one patient interviews. But before I begin, I need to finalize the survey that I will use with my on-site mentor so that it is appropriate and comprehensive for the scope of my research - all of the data that I want to use must solely be attained from this survey (to be in accordance with 45 CFR 164.502(d), and 164.514(a)  (c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule). That is, everything from age to type of diabetes must be on the questionnaire. Once it is completed and approved by my mentor, I will be sure to post a link to it.

Before I go any further, I want to address perhaps the most relevant question to my research that I feel I have overlooked. Ultimately, the purpose of my research is to attempt to evaluate the implications of the relationship between diabetes and depression, not just the relationship itself. In other words, assuming I gain a better understanding of this relationship over the next sixty days, so what?

Diabetes demands a very active life: checking blood pressure and blood sugar level as needed, scheduling regular appointments, making dietary changes, and incorporating exercise into your life are all vital activities that are required for proper treatment after a diagnosis of diabetes. The outcome of treating an infection is merely getting rid of it. But diabetes is not an infection. It's a chronic condition. And as of right now, the outcome for treating it is control 
 control of all of its hindering effects. According to my mentor, an endocrinologist, unless you treat a depressed diabetic for their depression, you won't get a person who is ready to treat their diabetes.

This brings me to the above quotation from Patrick Lustman, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, who reported in the June issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. Unfortunately, as Dr. Lustman indicates, symptoms of depression are often downplayed in diabetic patients. So as far contributing to the scientific community, my long-term goal for this project is to not only attest to the relationship between diabetes and depression, but also convey the importance of getting proper treatment for depression to effectively treat diabetes when both conditions are present.


Lalani.

2 comments:

  1. I think your elaboration on the connection between the necessity of treating a patient's depression before they can be expected to treat his or her diabetes is enlightening of the direction that your project is meant to take.

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  2. Nick,

    I'm glad you're settling in. I personally found the first few days of researching tiring (more tiring than going to school!). I heard from somewhere that exercise can cure depression. I look forward to learning about the implications of the relationship between diabetes and depression.

    Jenny

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