Depressed Women at Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Women who suffer from depression may also be at an increased risk for heart disease, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. In fact, researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta found that young and middle-aged women with depression were two times more likely than others to die from heart disease.

"Women in this age group are more likely to suffer from depression, so this may be one of the 'hidden' risk factors that explains why women die at a disproportionately higher rate than similarly aged men after a heart attack," said study lead author, Dr. Amit Shah, an assistant professor of epidemiology with the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, according to LiveScience. "And it could be that younger women have neurobiological differences or hormonal differences that make them respond to acute mental stress differently than men or older women."

For the study, researchers examined data on more than 3,200 adults that had or were suspected of having heart disease from 2003 to 2010. Involved participants were an average age of 63, and each underwent an arterial X-ray to study the signs of arterial disease. Three years later, researchers followed up with participants to test their depression risk and overall health.

The study results showed that women 55 or younger were at a greater risk of depression by 27 percent. In comparison, men 65 and older were at a 9 percent increased risk for depression. Furthermore, researchers calculated that for every one-point increase in a woman's depression score, there was a 7 percent spike in heart disease risk.

"Although we have more work to better understand what's going on, what this means is that young depressed women should view depression as a motivating factor to live a healthier lifestyle and be more aggressive about preventive care," said Dr. Shah reported by WebMD. "These kinds of relationships are very complicated, and we're still investigating to better understand the reason."