The Historical Connection Between Diabetes and Mental Illness

The historical connection between diabetes and mental illness goes back centuries. In the 1800s, researchers found that diabetes and serious mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia ran in the same families. By the 1940s, research showed metabolic abnormalities in the bodies and brains of people with mental illness. The 1980s and 90s brought neuroimaging studies that further measured abnormalities in metabolism. By 2000, researchers started focusing on mitochondria and noticing differences in their functioning in the brains and bodies of people with mental illness. The work being done now is a result of decades of research and integration, rather than a new speculation.