According to Dr. Roy C. Ziegelstein, MACP, professor of medicine and associate dean of education at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, there are three main connections between depression and heart disease.

Siegelstein was not involved in the research.

First, depression is a risk factor for developing heart disease, and this study highlights that connection.Some think depression is a ‘non-traditional’ cardiovascular disease Risk factor, Other risk factors that are perhaps better known are considered “traditional” (high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, etc.).

Second, heart disease is associated with an increased likelihood of developing or being diagnosed with depression. Taken together, these two aspects explain the relationship between depression and heart disease as “bidirectional.”

Third, people who become depressed after a cardiovascular event (such as a heart attack) are at higher risk of falling into poverty. resultmore people who suffer cardiovascular events than those without depression, including death.

“There are several reasons why this relationship exists, but one of particular note is that people with depression participate in many activities in life, including many of the activities that are important for prevention and/or treatment.” Heart disease – because many things seem to require extra effort and energy, and people with depression feel they don’t have the strength to do them. ”Siegelstein said.

Ziegelstein also pointed out that people with depression may have more difficulty exercising, eating healthy food and taking prescribed medications.

There is also evidence that people with mental illnesses, including depression, receive needed heart disease treatment less often than people without mental illness, even if their heart disease is of similar severity. There are several,” Siegelstein added.

As this study highlights, there are gender-based differences between cardiovascular disease risk and depression. Experts explain potential reasons for this association.

“As women progress into later stages of life (postmenopause), the cardioprotective effects of estrogen begin to wane, and this, combined with increased rates of inflammation and stress hormones due to depression, creates disparities between men and women,” Dr. Hotsam said. . said Humood, a cardiologist at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital.

Hummoud was not involved in the study.

Guffey said, “Women are generally more prone to depression than men, and this pattern is seen throughout the lifespan. Women may be more vulnerable to the physiological effects of depression.”

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. woman This is true in America as well, but many people do not know this fact.

“Many traditional teachings emphasize that women may be ‘protected’ from heart disease, which may lead women and health care providers to underestimate their actual risk of heart disease. “There’s a gender,” Siegelstein said.

For example, research shows that many people experience: i don’t know Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women in the United States.

“As a result of this ‘double whammy’ (both women and health care professionals underestimate risk), women may not pay as much attention to risk factors for heart disease as men. , women may be slower to receive treatment for their symptoms than men,” Siegelstein said. “This is important because the severity of a heart attack is directly related to the time between onset of symptoms and seeking medical care, so the longer women seek medical care, the more It increases the risk.”

Although this study highlights important health concerns, more research is needed. Other factors must be considered.

“Because this sample is based solely on medical claims information, it does not take into account subclinical symptoms of depression, which may be associated with risks specific to depression.” No data were provided on whether women had received treatment for their physical conditions. Women-specific factors such as pregnancy history; [were] It’s not explained,” Guffey said.

Ziegelstein explained the study’s limitations:

Perhaps most importantly, the group of people who participated in this study is very different from the typical U.S. adult population. The observational study did not document racial, ethnic, or socio-economic diversity, as the claims database “predominantly included employees at relatively large Japanese companies.” This is likely a much less diverse group of individuals than the typical U.S. adult population. Furthermore, there are important differences in the prevalence of traditional risk factors in the population studied here compared to the US adult population.

Additionally, the definition of obesity in this study includes many people who are not obese but are considered overweight in the United States. Nevertheless, the prevalence of obesity in this study is much lower than in the US adult population. In addition to the lower prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors compared to the United States, this study found that these traditional risk factors were approximately twice as common in men than women, and that The relative contribution of traditional risk factors is increasingly likely to be considered. It is more important among women.

Finally, because this study is observational, “depression” here is based on a diagnosis code in the database, whether the condition is currently affecting the individual, and how severe it is. It is important to remember that it does not indicate how much or how long it will last. I received that diagnosis. This is important because women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men in the United States, but in this study the prevalence of those diagnosed with depression was about the same for men and women. This may suggest that the women in this study may have had more severe depression than the men, a possibility that also affects the interpretation of these results.

A new study shows that women with depression have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than men.

Experts say there are several potential reasons for gender differences in cardiovascular disease risk and depression. Women may be more vulnerable to the physiological effects of depression. Also, after menopause, women experience hormonal changes and the cardioprotective effects of estrogen begin to diminish.

This study has a number of limitations. Further research is needed.