The relationship between temperament, diabetes and depression

Abstract

Background: Temperament is the stable core of personality and it may represent the underlying continuity between how the person typically is (trait) and how the person temporarily changes (state). Comorbid depression in patients with Type 2 diabetes is important because of the negative consequences on the prognosis of diabetes. Little research has explored the relationships between temperament, depression and type 2 diabetes. The aims of the present paper are first to describe current research that has examined the relationship between temperament, diabetes and depression, and second to make recommendations for future research.

Methods: Literature search from Medline and references in published papers.

Results: Current research has described the relationship of temperament with cyclothymia, bipolar disorder, mood instability and suicidality. Studies on the relationship between temperament and depressive disorders are scarce. Nevertheless, there is likely a continuum between depressive temperament and related personality traits and subthreshold and clinical depressive states and disorders and diabetes outcomes.

Limitations: The greatest limitation concerns the scarcity of papers on this issue. There are also methodological limitations in accurately assessing depressive temperament versus current depressive disorders and residual symptoms from these disorders.

Conclusion: Depressive temperament may be a promising construct to understand better the interplay between depression and diabetes.