Does Depression Increase your Risk of Parkinson's Disease?

Statistics show that approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease every year alone--a number that does not reflect thousands of cases that potentially go undetected. An estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide are also living with the disease.

This progressive disorder of the nervous system gradually affects movement, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in the hand to more severe problems and loss of motor control, slurred speech and other normally controlled functions.

A recent study has found that those who are depressed may have an increased risk for developing Parkinson's disease later in life.

This study led by researchers in Taiwan can be commonly connected to another recent study showing midlife stress and it's connection to dementia.

"Depression is linked in other studies to illnesses such as cancer and stroke," said Albert C. Yang, Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. "Our study suggests that depression may also be an independent risk factor for Parkinson's disease." Yang is one of the study authors. "Many questions remain, including whether depression is an early symptom of Parkinson's disease rather than an independent risk factor for the disease," Yang said, via a press release. "Our study also found that depression and older age and having difficult-to-treat depression were significant risk factors as well."

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Neurology.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that approximately one in every ten adults in the country is depressed.