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Around 85 per cent of adults with diabetes in the UK are missing out on specialist psychological support, according to a leading charity.

The Mind the Gap report, by Diabetes UK, found that only 25 per cent of diabetes services could name and supply contact details for specific services that provide specialist psychological care for diabetes patients.

Professionals in these services often lack the specific knowledge about the condition, despite there being evidence of elevated psychological problems in patients with diabetes.

Depression, which is doubled in diabetes sufferers, and other psychological problems can lead to poor patient self-care.

Bridget Turner, head of healthcare and policy at Diabetes UK, said: "Living with diabetes can be challenging and the emotional stress of having to deal with this complex condition on a daily basis means specialist psychological services are crucial."

More than 2.5 million people in the UK suffer from diabetes and a further half a million have the disease and do not know.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Diabetes.