A History of the Menninger Clinic and Diabetes

Abstract

A study of the Menninger Clinic and diabetes. The Menninger Clinic opened its doors to the public in 1919. The earliest record at the Clinic of a diabetic patient who suffered from diabetes insipidus was in the early 1920s. Menninger tried to prove that cranial damage could have caused diabetes insipidus in this patient. Diabetes mellitus was studied by the Menninger Clinic in the 1930s. The study which proved that mental health disorders are related to proper glucose control. In the 1980s the Menninger Clinic partnered with the American Diabetes Association to bring public awareness regarding diabetes and mental health issues throughout the American Midwest. The Menninger Clinic closed in 2003 to move to Houston Texas where it still operates today. This thesis will give insight into how the Menninger Clinic was the first institution to study diabetes in the realm of mental health.