PSYCHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES WITH DIABETES COMPARED TO OTHER CHRONIC CONDITIONS

The present study relies on data for the years 1988 and 1989 from the Swedish continuous Surveys of Living Conditions (SLC), which are based on random samples from the population among individuals aged 16 throu gh 84 years. We compared the rates of self-reported mental health for subjects reporting diabetes (n=361), a musculoskeletal condition but w ithout diabetes (n=2187), hypertension but without diabetes (n=980), a nd healthy free from any medical condition (n=6664). Comparisons are b ased on age- and gender-standardized rates, using the diabetes group a s standard. The results show that more diabetic respondents had psychi c symptoms and long-standing psychiatric disorders than the healthy re spondents, with otherwise no differences compared to the other chronic conditions. The diabetic respondents had lower mean disposable income , and a higher rate of disability pension than the respondents with hy pertension, and than the healthy. They also reported more sick leave d ays than the healthy respondents.