The connection between mind and body It is a topic that has fascinated people for years. Is it possible for a person to really die of grief? Or is a healthy head really in a healthy body?

Scientists have been researching the relationship between mental and physical health for some time now. We can say that one of these relationships is the disease of our time. depression and heart disease between them is suspected. So, is there really a link between depression and heart disease? A new study contributes to answering this question.

Women at higher risk for heart disease also have a higher risk of developing depression.

According to studies, depression is more common in people with general heart disease than in the general population. more often manifests itself somehow. In addition, among physically healthy individuals who have been followed for many years, those with higher depressive symptoms are more likely to develop heart disease than those without depression. higher is reportedly.

In addition, depression in people with acute heart disease can be due to another cause, not just heart disease. increased risk of heart attack and death It is also known to be associated with elevated But in the sense that very few studies can show the opposite of this, so basically cause depression It is well known that everything is being tackled in the field of heart disease. This is exactly how the newly published research looks at the link between heart disease and depression.

Sandra Martín-Peláez of the University of Granada, Spain, and colleagues examined the association between cardiovascular risk factors and depression in people between the ages of 55 and 75 that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. of the metabolic syndrome targeting people who suffer The participants in this study were also involved in a larger study that analyzed the effects of the Mediterranean diet on overweight or obese people and metabolic syndrome.

Participants in other studies consisted of one group following a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet and an exercise program, and another group following an unrestricted Mediterranean diet without an exercise program. As a result, the fundamental analysis of the main work more than 6,500 participants were included and more than 4,500 followed two years later.

To identify key risk factors for heart disease, the researchers used the established Framingham risk score, developed by tracking healthy people over time, and compared participants who had a heart attack or died from heart disease within 10 years. low, medium or high risk were classified as

Researchers who asked participants about depressive symptoms using questionnaires at baseline and then two years later found no significant association between cardiovascular risk and depression at baseline or follow-up. So in general, participants at higher risk for heart disease are more likely than normal to have or develop depression. was not higher.

Those at higher baseline cardiovascular risk when they analyzed the data by gender women are more likely to show signs of depression. The researchers found nothing to indicate that this was the case at follow-up, neither in men nor in women.

On average, it is seen that the depression scores of all participants in two years declined was detected. Accordingly, depression scores were lower for those at low cardiovascular risk and those in the intervention group.

Obviously, it’s difficult at this point to understand what the findings from this study clearly mean. The researchers analyzed the data in several ways; in general, however, controversial results were always obtained. Accordingly, the only definitive conclusion is: women with heart diseasethan men with heart disease to higher levels of depression This was to be expected, as women in the general population are more likely to be depressed than men.

Why are depression and heart disease thought to be linked?

While this study cannot provide conclusive evidence that heart disease risk is associated with a higher risk of developing depression, there is already evidence that heart disease and depression are linked. a strong body of evidence contributes. It seems possible that this relationship can be explained by a number of behavioral and biological factors. Some biological factors associated with both depression and cardiovascular disease risk include the following:

• increased inflammation
• endothelial dysfunction
• altered activity of the autonomic nervous system
• platelet dysfunction

In addition, such as regular exercise, not smoking and eating healthy healthy lifestyle factors it is protective against both heart disease and depression; Conversely, unhealthy lifestyle factors are also known to be associated with an increased risk of heart disease and depression.

On the other hand, the aim of this study is to further investigate diet and lifestyle for use in potential treatments for depression in people with and at risk of heart disease. heap It is said to give.