It’s fairly known that depression can occur after a heart attack and can increase the likelihood of a second heart attack. But did you know that the flip side is also true? That depression itself can increase a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease. A recent Johns Hopkins Health Alert reports:
Prospective studies show that people who had no CHD [coronary heart disease] but were depressed when the studies began were more likely to develop or die of heart disease. Depression also aggravates chronic illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, back problems, and asthma, leading to more work absences, disability, and doctor visits.
Now results from a large Norwegian study suggests that depression increases the risk of death from most other major diseases, including stroke, respiratory illnesses, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. It is also associated with accidental deaths.
Researchers gathered baseline information on physical and mental health for 61,349 Norwegian men and women, average age 48, and then noted the number of deaths and their causes during an average follow-up of nearly 4.5 years. Participants who had significant depression (2,866) had a higher risk of dying of most major causes of death, even after adjusting for age, medical conditions, and physical complaints at the study’s outset.
The researchers theorize that depression may increase the risk of death by directly affecting the cardiovascular and nervous systems. In addition, depression may lead to poor health habits, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and a sedentary lifestyle, and may affect people’s ability to follow treatment regimens. Results reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (volume 69, page 323).
In a Psych Central article, “Stressful Health Effects,” Senior News Editor Rick Nauert discusses another study by psychologist Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser from the Ohio State University College of Medicine published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science regarding the toll of stress and negative emotions on the body.
First, stress and distress increase the production of proinflammatory cytokines, which has been implicated in the development of diseases such as Alzeheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, and diabetes.
Depression also increases the risk of infections and can delay wound healing because negative emotions can damage the immune system. In fact, stressed individuals show a weaker immune response to vaccines, Nauert explains, which is why depression is actually a public health concern. Furthermore, stress and depression makes environmental toxins like pesticides and air pollutants harder to tolerate, which, in turn, increases a person’s risk for developing allergies, asthma, and viral infections.
A bunch of good news, right???
Actually the reports just further underscore the urgency with which we should address depression and stress. They need to be treated just as seriously as cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, and autoimmune conditions.
Unfortunately most mood disorders won’t go away if we simply ignore them and direct our attention to something else. They are legitimate health concerns that affect a variety of our organs and systems within the human body and can make our lives a living hell if we’re not paying attention.
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5 Comments to
“Depression Increases the Risk of Major Diseases and Illnesses”
Did the study control for those with depression who were being treated with medication? Because psych meds are often linked with weight gain and a whole host of other problems like diabetes, hypertension, etc.
The medication variable would be important information to know before one could determine if there’s support for the claim that depression increases the risk of major diseases. That old saying “correlation does not equal causation” may be applicable here.
oh, that’s really bad, every now and then i find another bad thing that depression can cause!
thanks for the info
Researchers hypothesize not theorize. It is not appropriate to report information from the comments or conclusion section of a study implying that the in anyway represent scientific inquiry. The language of your article is causal and as the first person who commented on this article noted correlation does not mean causation. You are communicating to the public uneducated in research statistics. It is, therefore, very important that you do so clearly and precisely otherwise wrong conclusion will be drawn. Look at the second comment if you doubt this.
When I’ve been depressed, I am thinking that I would like to end my life because it’s too painful, going on. So things like going to the dentist or lowering my cholesterol rank pretty low on my list of priorities.
I was struggling just to get out of bed. One of the few things I took pleasure in was that cup of coffee first thing in the morning. And my doctor wanted to detract from that small pleasure by taking away my half and half!
So my own anecdotal experience is that there’s a correlation between physical health. Symptoms of depression are intertwined with things like changes in eating, sleeping, inactivity, grooming, being around other people. And all of those things are related to physical health.
Actually, at this moment it’s striking me as very strange that we try to separate physical health and well-being from mental/emotional health and well-being. The dualistic mind-body split that is part of our Western mindset is rather artificial.
I am bipolar - diagnosed two years - but was treated for depression for fifteen odd years, taking large doses of a variety of anti-depressants - no anti-psychotic.
I struggled, but survived, cycled in and out of depressive bouts, but my mania seemed to offset the lows with some functioning highs.
In 2002, at my stepdaughters wedding, I collapsed. In the next few months I weakened to the point I could no longer work. I experienced chronic neck and leg pain and had a great difficulty walking and catching my breath. This condition lingered for years.
Before my savings were exhausted and my insurance dropped my disability coverage, I underwent extensive neurological testing - all negative, all suggesting the meltdown was a somaticized depressive event.
I wasn’t able to a understand, let alone accept the possibility of the mind crippling the body. I was outraged at what I considered incompetence. I withdrew socially and attempted suicide a few months later.
I was hospitalized and my medications were increased to absurd amounts, the symptoms exacerbated and my discomfort became intolerable. I underwent several series of ECT until my memory was compromised - I gave up.
I left after 6 months, weaker and with little hope - more anti-depressants, more therapy - and a year later, I isolated again and made another attempt on my life.
Again hospitalized, but a different system, different psychiatrist, a different diagnosis - bipolar. The ssri’s were all but eliminated and I was introduced to Seroquel. The ruminations and mania became apparent to me for the first time in my life. The medication provided a much needed break in the cycling. I began to understand this process and live accordingly. Slowly my physical health returned to very acceptable levels.
I know now that my ‘condition’ was s complex interaction of both body and psyche.
Understanding this had, quite honestly, saved my life.
I am now convinced the mind holds a tremendous authority over the body.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 28 Jul 2009
