Depression Raises The Risk of Obesity By Up To 49% And Heart Disease By Up To 57%, Study Reveals

• Mild depressive symptoms, such as low energy, raises obesity's risk by up to 36%
• The link was thought to be due to depression sufferers having unhealthy habits
• Yet, blood samples revealed a marker raises inflammation in depressed people
• Excessive inflammation is a known risk factor for both obesity and heart disease
• How this inflammation is associated with symptoms of depression is less clear

Suffering depressive symptoms raises your risk of obesity by up to 49 per cent, a new study reveals.

Experiencing moderate signs of the mental health disorder also raises your heart disease risk by up to 57 per cent, the research adds.

Sufferers of depression who are at-risk of heart disease have a marker in their blood that increases inflammation, a known cause of heart complications, the study found.

Yet, the reason behind the link between heart disease and depression is unclear.

Increased inflammation may play a greater role in depressed patients' heart disease risk than their possible behaviors, such as smoking and being physically inactive, the researchers added.




Depressive symptoms raise your risk of obesity by up to 49% and heart disease by up to 58%

ARE YOU DEPRESSED? TRY THESE MOOD-LIFTING TIPS

Ten strategies to lift your mood before you seeing your doctor:

1. Go for a walk - exercise lifts your mood
2. Get some sunlight - inadequate vitamin D supplies makes us feel low
3. Stand tall - having an open posture boosts our self worth
4. Ditch the sugar - crashes affect our emotions
5. Be social - others can offer emotional support
6. Take St. John's Wort - it has been used for centuries to lift our moods
7. Read - the NHS endorses books that help target depression and anxiety
8. Reminisce - a trip down memory lane can combat feelings of isolation
9. Brush and floss - depression can weaken our immune systems, affecting oral health
10. Embrace your age - stressing about ageing has been linked to low mood

Researchers from Rice University, Houston analysed 1,085 people who suffer symptoms of depression and are at-risk of heart disease.

Those with mild depressive symptoms, such as difficulty sleeping and a lack of energy, were 36 per cent more likely to be obese than those without signs of the mental health disorder.

Moderate depression sufferers were 49 per cent more likely to be obese and 57 per cent more likely to have metabolic syndrome - a cluster of conditions including increased blood pressure, fat around the waist and high blood sugar.

Obesity and metabolic syndrome are both known causes of heart disease.

The researchers initially thought the link between depression and heart disease risk may be behavioral.

Study author Dr Diana Chirinos, said: 'We thought that individuals who are depressed might be more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as drinking alcohol, smoking and not exercising, which can lead to risk factors for heart disease.

'However, this was not necessarily the case.'

The researchers then took blood samples from the participants which revealed a marker associated with inflammation.

Chirinos said: 'After testing the blood of patients in the study, we discovered that depression creates an immune system response.

'An immune marker that signals inflammation in the body was found in the blood of study participants who displayed symptoms of depression and risk factors of heart disease, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome.'

Inflammation is increasingly being linked to heart disease, the researchers added.

Yet, the link between dementia and obesity or heart disease is unclear.

Results of the study will be published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

This comes after researchers from Duke University found bone marrow transplants could prevent heart disease.

Stem cell therapy, the most common of which is bone marrow transplants, significantly improves exercise time and reduces mortality in people with severe chest pain.

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