About the Study

What is the EMHS study?

• Dr. Schmitz and his team are interested in the development of type-2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. Type-2 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases, and the number of people affected is continuously increasing. The consequences of uncontrolled diabetes may by severe and are therefore a major concern.

• Research suggests that although physiological factors such as metabolic abnormalities influence diabetes, emotional wellbeing may also influence the onset of diabetes. The main topic addressed by the Emotional Well-Being and Metabolic Factors and Health Status study is the interaction between metabolic abnormalities and emotional well-being in predicting the onset of diabetes and pre-diabetes.

What are the objective of the EMHS study?

• The main objective of this project is to closely examine the relationship between emotional wellbeing, including current depression and depression history, metabolic abnormalities such as obesity, hypertension, high blood sugar and high cholesterol, and the development of type-2 diabetes and pre-diabetes.

• This study will help develop strategies to better identify individuals at risk for diabetes, which can ultimately help to prevent it.

Why is the EMHS study important?

• Although previous studies have examined the associations between emotional well-being and diabetes, there has been very little longitudinal research conducted on a large scale such as this.

• Longitudinal research is crucial to gain a better understanding of the factors involved in the development of health conditions.

• Through collaboration with the CARTaGENE group, which collected information on emotional well-being and collected blood samples in 2009-2010, we are able to prospectively examine how both physiological and psychosocial factors influence the development of diabetes and pre-diabetes. 

• Conducting a large, longitudinal study is needed to give us a more accurate representation of the relationship between metabolic factors, emotional well-being, and diabetes in the general population.