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CDC webinar spotlights diabetes distress, urges routine screening and team-based care
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Summary
CDC Division of Diabetes Translation speakers and advocates told a World Diabetes Day webinar that diabetes distress—a condition tied to the daily burden of managing diabetes—is common, distinct from clinical depression and anxiety, and should be screened for routinely with referral pathways to diabetes education and mental-health care.
At a CDC webinar marking World Diabetes Day, officials and clinicians emphasized that diabetes distress—the emotional burden tied specifically to the demands of living with diabetes—is widespread and can worsen diabetes outcomes unless identified and addressed.
Dr. Christopher Holliday, director of the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, opened the session by saying the agency will focus on diabetes and well-being through 2026 and stressed the need to “listen early and often” to people with diabetes about their mental and social needs.
Barbara Bridal Hyer, an epidemiologist in CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, reviewed surveillance data and research showing the scale of the problem: about 38,400,000 people in the U.S. had diabetes in 2021 (roughly 11.6% of the population), and about 98,000,000 adults had prediabetes. Hyer said people with diabetes have higher risks for depression and anxiety and described state-level variation in diagnosed depression among people with diabetes (she reported a range in her map from about 19.1% in one state to roughly 47.5% in another).
“Depression and anxiety have a bidirectional relationship with diabetes,” Hyer said, and she noted studies linking coexisting mental-health conditions to greater health-care utilization and higher costs.
Dr. Allison Hughes, a health psychologist who lives with type 1 diabetes, said diabetes distress is “the most common psychosocial challenge in diabetes,” described how the condition can range from mild to severe, and recommended routine, brief screening in clinic. Hughes highlighted two commonly used tools—PAID (Problem Areas In Diabetes) and the Diabetes Distress Scale—and emphasized that very short (two-item) screens can be practical for busy visits. She recommended referral to diabetes education if moderate or high distress is identified and referral to a mental-health professional if tailored education does not improve outcomes.
Hughes also recommended person-first, strength-based language to reduce stigma and improve engagement: “Using person with diabetes… instead of language that implies failure can be dehumanizing,” she said.
Guest speaker Lucia Feito Alonka shared lived-experience remarks, urging providers to treat patients “as a whole” and normalizing the emotional burden: “You are not crazy. You’re living with a chronic condition,” she said, noting that community support and advocacy helped her find purpose and cope.
During Q&A, panelists advised that primary diabetes-care teams should ideally do routine distress screening but that coordinated communication between DSMES/DPP programs and providers is reasonable when screening is inconsistent. On whether type 2 diabetes is “reversible,” panelists cautioned against the word “reversible,” recommending “remission” and pointing listeners toward the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) for people with prediabetes to reduce risk of progression.
The webinar closed with a resource spotlight: CDC’s New Beginnings discussion guide, a health-literacy toolkit (English/Spanish), DSMES-support materials, ADA behavioral-health modules and therapist directory, Breakthrough T1D resources, and a 7-part animated video series designed to support self-care. Presenters encouraged clinicians and health systems to integrate screening into EHR/EMR workflows and to use brief validated measures to identify patients who need additional support.
The webinar ended with reminders about continuing-education credit and a promise that slides and the recording would be shared.
