TORONTO - A new study released Wednesday suggests there may be a
connection between depression and developing heart disease in middle-aged women.
Statistics Canada tracked the health of nearly 5,000 men and women aged 40 or
older over a 12-year period and found women had significantly higher risks of
being diagnosed with heart disease if they had suffered with depression at some
point.
Women had a 70 per cent greater risk of developing heart disease if they had
been depressed, but for men the increased risk was less than one per cent, said
the study's author, Heather Gilmour.
It was the first time potential links between depression and heart disease among
Canadians had been studied at a national level and the results were similar but
somewhat different compared to international findings.
Other studies had found men who had depression also had a higher risk of getting
heart disease. Gilmour said the results might have been similar here if the
study period was longer, since the disease takes a long time to develop.
"That was kind of an interesting thing to think about - why didn't we see
(higher risk) for men in our study - and I think possibly one of the reasons is
that the followup period wasn't long enough," she said from Ottawa.
"It's something that could well emerge within another few years of data. The
trend is there, but it didn't reach statistical significance."
Another interesting revelation in the data was a correlation between depression
and heart disease that goes beyond the bad habits that are typically common risk
factors, such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, poor physical fitness and
overeating, Gilmour said.
"One theory is that these people that have depression have poorer lifestyle
habits which could lead them to develop heart disease," she said.
"But what's interesting is even in this study that accounts for those factors
there's still something over and above that. There's something else about
depression besides these health-related behaviours that is associated with an
increased risk of heart disease, and that could be a physiological factor."
She said the value of the study will be in raising awareness that people with
depression - particularly women - should be monitored for the development of
heart disease.
Dr. Brian Baker of the Heart and Stroke Foundation said he was surprised the
study didn't indicate that depressed men also have a higher risk of heart
disease, and cautioned that other research has shown that to be the case.
But Baker, who didn't take part in this study, said any research that confirms
the health dangers of depression is helpful in getting more people diagnosed.
"People should be aware that they may have depression, that it can eventually
over time affect the body," he said, and added that there should be more
awareness about the differences between being sad and depressed.
"Everyone gets down every once and so often and we don't want to pathologize a
normal feeling."
According to the study, heart disease is the second leading cause of disability
for men and the third leading cause for women worldwide, while depression is the
fourth leading cause of disability among men and the leading cause among women.
Depression has also been found to negatively affect the health of people who
have had heart attacks.
Of the 4,948 people tracked in the study, 16.8 per cent of the women and 10.9
per cent of the men said they experienced depression at least once over the
12-year time period.
