2023-05-05 13:00:00
Depression does not only affect mental health, it also affects the body. A study by researchers at University College London shows that the disorder increases the risk of developing 29 conditions that can lead to hospitalizations such as diabetes or hypertension by 1.5 times compared to people who are not depressed.
Depression increases the risk of hospitalization
To determine the impact of severe or moderately severe depression on health, the researchers reviewed the records of three cohorts. This represented 240,433 people.
They discovered that people who suffered from mood disorders were at least 1.5 times more likely to have 29 conditions capable of leading to hospital, such as diabetes, lower back pain or even poisoning or falls.
One of the cohorts studied revealed particularly important associations for a series of conditions including:
- ischemic heart disease;
- osteoarthritis;
- bacterial infections;
- le mal de dos ;
- chronic obstructive bronchitis;
- diabetes ;
- sleep disorders.
“The most common causes of hospitalization in our cohort among people with depression were endocrine, musculoskeletal and vascular diseases”write the authors in their article published in the journal JAMA Psychiatrythe 3rd of 2023.
Prevention: pay attention to the health of depressed patients
Questioned by our colleagues from MedPage TodayProfessor Philipp Frank, author of the study, said: “the most surprising finding in our paper was that depression is associated with so many physical illnesses”. For him, this suggests that “the impact of depression on physical health is widespread, and thus clearly not limited to a specific area of the body or a particular group of illnesses.”
The expert adds “the most important point to remember is the importance of considering depression as a risk factor for various physical illnesses and a target for the prevention and treatment of somatic illnesses”. The authors therefore call on health professionals to be particularly vigilant with their depressive patients.
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