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- Christina van der Feltz-Cornelis awarded PSAD science award for Mid-Career/Senior Researchers
Professor Christina van der Feltz-Cornelis wins award for study of diabetes psychology
Posted on 22 October 2021
The award was made during PSAD's 26th Annual Scientific Meeting on Thursday 21 October.
Christina won the award as first author of the publication of a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatments of comorbid depressive disorder or subthreshold depressive disorder in diabetes mellitus in Brain and Behavior.
The publication found that a variety of interventions are effective and that over the last decade, new interventions with large effect sizes have been introduced, such as group-based therapy, online treatment, and exercise. However, although all interventions, including psychotherapy, antidepressants, and metformin, were effective for depression, not all treatments were effective for glycemic control. Also, interventions in comorbid depressive disorder were more effective than in comorbid subthreshold depression. Based on the findings, guidance was provided for the treatment depending on the patient profile and desired outcome. It was also noted that research was mostly conducted in western countries and China, and LMIC based research was mostly lacking despite the surging prevalence of diabetes and depression in such countries.
Coauthors were Dr. Sarah Allen; Prof Richard Holt, diabetologist; Professor Richard Roberts, past president of WONCA; Professor Arie Nouwen, past president of PSAD, and Professor Norman Sartorius, former director of the World Health Organization's Division of Mental Health, and former president of the World Psychiatric Association and of the European Psychiatric Association.