Depression accelerates onset of chronic health conditions by over 30 percent, study finds

Adults with a history of depression may develop chronic physical conditions, such as, osteoarthritis and hypertension, 30 percent faster than those with no history of mental disorder, a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, UK, analyzed health data from over 1.7 lakh participants in the UK Biobank for an average of seven years. The study, published in PLOS Medicine, examined the risk of developing 69 physical conditions among individuals with a history of depression.

Researchers said that treating depression should, therefore, involve methods that help manage both mental and physical health.

The mental disorder, marked by a persistent low mood, is known to heighten one’s chance of developing heart disease or diabetes, with previous studies having looked at a patient’s risk of developing a small number of illnesses, according to the authors.

Findings showed that participants with depression had an average of three physical conditions, with hypertension being the most common, compared to two conditions in those without a history of depression. Over the study period, those with depression developed an additional 0.2 physical conditions per year, compared to 0.16 in those without the disorder.

“The most common new conditions were osteoarthritis (15.7 per cent of those with depression at baseline vs 12.5 per cent without), hypertension (12.9 per cent vs 12 per cent) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (13.8 per cent vs 9.6 per cent),” the authors wrote.

The results revealed that a history of depression could be a marker indicating a risk of developing physical conditions in the long-term.

The study highlighted that existing healthcare systems primarily focus on treating conditions individually rather than addressing multiple coexisting health issues. The authors recommended an integrated approach to managing both mental and physical health for better patient outcomes.

Risk factors such as smoking, high body mass index, and low physical activity were also identified as contributors to the faster development of chronic conditions among individuals with depression. The study found that 18 per cent of participants had a history of depression at the start, with widespread pain, sleep disturbances, stressful life events, loneliness, and obesity more common in this group.