The combination of depression and heart disease is more deadly than either factor alone, researchers say.
It is already known that either influence can increase the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, but there has been little research on both factors combined. Now, experts writing in the journal Heart have concluded the risks are higher if a person is both depressed and suffers from heart disease.
Almost 6,000 middle-aged British men and women were followed for nearly six years for the research, led by teams from University College London and the University of Versailles in France.
Around one in five of those taking part had both heart disease and depression. Overall, 170 people died during the study period, including 47 from cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks or strokes.
Heart health
The results showed that people with heart disease alone had a 67 per cent higher chance of dying from any cause than those without either heart disease or depression.
They found people with heart disease alone had a 67% higher chance of dying from any cause than those without either heart disease or depression.
But the combination of heart disease and depression tripled the risk of death from any cause and quadrupled the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Amy Thompson, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, which partly funded the study, said: “This study builds on previous research which suggests that depression is linked to coronary heart disease.
“Enjoying regular exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet can help if you are feeling low – so, good news for your mental health as well as your heart health.
“Whether or not you have heart disease, if you feel depressed it’s essential to talk to your doctor.”
A key gene has been found that is twice as active in depressed patients than those who are not affected by the debilitating condition.
It could yield new treatments for patients resistant to current drugs.
Scientists identified the gene, called MKP-1, after analysing brain tissue samples from 21 dead patients who were diagnosed with depression.
Their samples were compared with those from 18 depression-free individuals.
MKP-1 was found to be twice as active in the brains of those who were depressed.
The gene blocks a molecular pathway crucial to the survival and function of neurons.
‘This could be a primary cause, or at least a major contributing factor, to the signalling abnormalities that lead to depression,’ said study leader Professor Ronald Duman, from Yale University in the U.S.
In the UK one in four women will require treatment for depression at some point, compared to one in 10 men. Studies have shown that about four per cent of British children under 17 are affected by depression.
Depression causes feelings of extreme sadness that can last for a long time. They are severe enough to interfere with your daily life, and can last for weeks or months, rather than days.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1321475/Depression-gene-yield-new-treatments-patients-resistant-drugs.html
Doctors in Britain are prescribing fresh air and farm work to beat depression.
A scheme in Suffolk encourages patients to work outdoors. Known as care farms, the initiative is designed to offer therapeutic help to people with mental health problems, the Daily Mail said.
Doctors who support the program, after a successful run in Norway and Holland, refer patients to the Clink Care Farm in Tofts Monk, near Beccles, Suffolk.
The 143-acre farm received its first helpers in June and is run by Doeke Dobma, 47.
“We have had a lot of positive feedback from doctors who would rather see their patients working on a farm that just sitting at home on medication trapped by four walls,” said Dobma.
The combination of depression and heart disease is more deadly than either factor alone, researchers said today.
Both are known to increase the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, but there has been little research on both factors combined.
Now, experts writing in the journal Heart have concluded that having both conditions triples the risk of death from any cause and quadruples the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Almost 6,000 middle-aged British men and women were followed for nearly six years for the research, led by experts from University College London and the University of Versailles in France.
Around one in five of those taking part had both heart disease and depression.
Overall, 170 people died during the study period, including 47 from cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks or strokes.
The results showed that people with heart disease alone had a 67 per cent higher chance of dying from any cause than those without either heart disease or depression.
Meanwhile, people with depressive symptoms only were more than twice as likely to die as those with neither heart disease or depression.
When experts looked at those people with both depression and heart disease, and adjusted the results to take account of factors likely to influence the results such as age and sex, they found the combination tripled the risk of death from any cause and quadrupled the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
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They said: ‘A major implication of these results is the need for healthcare professionals to pay more attention to depression in their cardiac patients.’
Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘This study builds on previous research which suggests that depression is linked to coronary heart disease.
‘Enjoying regular exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet can help if you are feeling low – so, good news for your mental health as well as your heart health.
‘Whether or not you have heart disease, if you feel depressed it’s essential to talk to your doctor.’