Aims/hypothesis <p>The aim of the study was to examine the course of diabetes distress and depressive symptoms and their predictors of incidence and remission in individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.</p> Methods <p>Data were collected every 6 months over a 24 month period. Participants (<i>n</i>=654) completed measures of diabetes distress (Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale) and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire 8). Cox proportional hazards models were applied to examine predictors of incidence and remission, considering demographic, clinical and psychosocial factors. All predictors were assessed at baseline, except for HbA_1c, which was modelled as a time-varying covariate.</p> Results <p>Diabetes distress showed cumulative incident cases in 21% of the sample and a remission rate of 70% across 24 months. For depressive symptoms, cumulative 24 month incidence was 33% and remission was 67%. The median onset time was 18 months for diabetes distress and 24 months for depressive symptoms; the median remission time for both was 6 months. Higher HbA_1c (HR=1.02, <i>p</i>=0.022), female gender (male gender&#xa0;HR=0.55, <i>p</i>=0.043), long-term complications (HR=2.11, <i>p</i>=0.009) and a history of anxiety disorders (HR=2.57, <i>p</i>=0.029) significantly predicted the incidence of diabetes distress, while no predictors were associated with remission. For depressive symptoms, higher HbA_1c (HR=1.03, <i>p</i>&lt;0.001), prior depression (HR=2.63, <i>p</i>=0.001) and eating disorders (HR=2.20, <i>p</i>=0.044) predicted incidence. Remission was significantly associated only with older age (HR=1.02, <i>p</i>=0.045).</p> Conclusions/interpretation <p>Suboptimal glycaemic outcomes predicted both diabetes distress and depression; however, diabetes distress was associated with anxiety disorders, whereas depressive symptoms were linked to prior depression and eating disorders, hinting at distinct aetiologies.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>