Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cosgrove, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cosgrove, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Occupational Medicine 2004;54:250-254
Occupational Medicine, Vol. 54 No. 4 © Society of Occupational Medicine; all rights reserved

Do stressful life events cause type 1 diabetes?

Martin Cosgrove

Background

The link between psychological stresses and deteriorating diabetes control is well known. However, people who develop type 1 diabetes sometimes ascribe the onset of diabetes to a recent stressful event

Aims

To perform a systematic review of the literature to assess whether stressful life events can cause type 1 diabetes.

Method

Electronic and manual literature search using appropriate key words.

Results

Older literature provides anecdotal links between stressful life events and diabetes. The difficulty in interpreting these papers is the small numbers under study and the lack of distinction between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. More recent studies, in particular from Scandinavia, demonstrate that there is no link between either the number or the severity of life events in the year up to the diagnosis and the onset of the condition.

Conclusion

Given the progress in understanding the molecular biology of diabetes, the concept that stress causes type 1 diabetes is no longer plausible. There is no evidence from large well-controlled trials that type 1 diabetes is caused by stressful life events.

Keywords      Depression; life events; occupational; stress; type 1 diabetes.

Received       22 April 2003
Revised         22 September 2003
Accepted        9 February 2004

Cherry Hinton Medical Centre, 30 Fishers Lane, Cambridge CB1 9HR, UK. e-mail: m.cosgrove{at}ntlworld.com


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Psychosom. Med.Home page
S. Melamed, A. Shirom, S. Toker, and I. Shapira
Burnout and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Study of Apparently Healthy Employed Persons
Psychosom Med, November 1, 2006; 68(6): 863 - 869.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Diabetes Spectr.Home page
C. Lloyd, J. Smith, and K. Weinger
Stress and Diabetes: A Review of the Links
Diabetes Spectr, April 1, 2005; 18(2): 121 - 127.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.