DEPRESSION LINKED WITH MORTALITY

New research has found a relationship between mental illness and coronary artery disease.

A new report published in the European heart journal has found a link between coronary artery disease and depression. The study involved monitoring 25,000 people with the disease for a period of 10 years.

The researchers uncovered that around 15 percent of the 25,000 participants also suffered from depression. The study concluded that mental distress posed a stronger risk factor of mortality than age, diabetes or previously having suffered a heart attack.

Of the 2,00 people in the experiment who were diagnosed with depression, 27 percent became depressed within one year of diagnosis for coronary artery disease. This figure rose to 37 percent for individuals who had suffered from artery disease for more than five years. The research was carried out in Salt Lake City in the USA.

Speaking to the independent, Dr. Heidi May, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute said of the findings, ” No matter how long or short it was, patients were found to have twice the risk of dying compared to those who didn’t have follow-up diagnosis of depression.”

Dr. May reiterated the dangers of mental illness and its profound effect on people’s physical well-being and risk of death. “No matter how long or short it was, patients were found to have twice the risk of dying compared to those who didn’t have a follow up diagnosis of depression,” she said ” The data just keeps building on itself, showing that if you have heart disease and depression and its not appropriately treated in a timely fashion, it’s not a good thing for your well-being,” she said.

May alluded to common health problems associated with depression, including a reduced to take prescribed medication and poor life-style choices. ” We know people with depression tend to be less compliant with medication on average and probably in general aren’t following healthier diets or exercise regimens,” she said.

Depression can be an issue for people who feel isolated from their friends and family.