Depression, Heart Disease Combo May Up Odds of
Death
09/16/10
THURSDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- People with both heart
disease and depression are much more likely to die than those with
just one of the conditions or neither illness, a new study
shows.
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 6,000 middle-aged adults
in Britain whose mental and physical health were monitored for an
average of five-and-a-half years as part of a study looking at how
social and economic factors affect long-term health.
Overall, about 15 percent of the participants had depression.
Twenty percent of those with heart disease had depression, compared
to 14 percent of those without heart problems.
Of the 170 deaths during the monitoring period, 47 were caused
by heart attack or stroke. Compared to people with neither
condition, those with coronary heart disease alone were 67 percent
more likely to die of all causes, while those with depression alone
were twice as likely to die.
People with both heart disease and depression were nearly five
times more likely to die than those in good physical and mental
health.
After accounting for a number of factors, the researchers
concluded that the combination of depression and heart disease
triples the risk of death from all causes and quadruples the risk
of death from heart attack or stroke.
The study was published online Sept. 16 in the journal
Heart.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more
about
heart
disease.
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