John Macoviak MD MBA, a graduate of Georgetown University, is a retired Washington, DC, heart transplant surgeon. Now living in California, John Macoviak MD MBA continues to write about medical conditions, most notably chronic conditions like diabetes.
The results of a new study by researchers at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has revealed a link between blood sugar and cortisol levels in people living with type 2 diabetes.
Published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, the July 2020 study builds on previous research that showed both stress and depression lead to more stable cortisol levels throughout the day. These sustained levels are not seen in healthy people, for whom cortisol naturally is high at the beginning of the day before dropping in the evening.
Since cortisol is linked to a decrease in insulin and an increase in blood sugar, having sustained levels makes diabetes much more difficult to control. This is why it’s essential that people with type 2 diabetes find ways to minimize their cortisol levels so that they do not experience blood sugar spikes.
To find this link, researchers examined data from more than 2,000 participants between the ages of 45 and 84. These participants were followed for a period of six years, during which time researchers noticed that people with diabetes had steadier cortisol levels and higher glucose levels than their peers without diabetes.
John Macoviak 