Jakarta (ANTARA) – Recent studies show that depression affects heart health and the risk of women with depression developing heart disease is higher than men with the same problem.
According to the results of a study published in Journals of the American College of Cardiologydepression increases the risk of heart disease by up to 39 percent in men and up to 64 percent in women.
As quoted by Medical Dailystudy co-author Hidehiro Kaneko said that identifying sex-specific factors in the impact of depression on cardiovascular disease could aid the development of targeted prevention and treatment strategies to address the specific cardiovascular disease risks faced by depressed patients.
“Better understanding will enable health care providers to optimize care for both men and women experiencing depression,” he said.
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Previous research has shown a link between depression and an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, angina, stroke and death.
Although women with depression have been found to have a higher relative risk of cardiovascular health problems compared to men, there is insufficient evidence regarding gender-based impacts, and the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not yet fully understood.
In testing to determine the relationship between depression and the incidence of heart disease, the researchers conducted an observational cohort study involving 4,125,720 participants who were part of a Japanese insurance claims database.
The participants were an average of 44 years old and about 57 percent of them were men.
This study identified people with depression as those who were clinically diagnosed before the initial health examination.
The main results of the examination include data on heart attack, chest pain, stroke, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Data on body mass index, blood pressure, and results of laboratory tests during fasting from participants were also collected during the examination.
According to a press release regarding the study results, researchers analyzed the statistical significance of differences in clinical characteristics between participants with and without depression.
The results showed a hazard ratio of depression to cardiovascular disease of 1.39 in men and 1.64 in women compared with participants without depression.
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Researchers explain that women may have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease when experiencing depression due to several factors.
Women tend to experience more severe and persistent depressive symptoms than men, especially during periods of significant hormonal change such as pregnancy or menopause.
When experiencing depression, women’s higher susceptibility to risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, as well as differences in access to healthcare and treatment between genders and sex-specific biological factors may contribute to increased risk.
“Our study found that the impact of sex differences on the association between depression and cardiovascular disease was consistent,” Kaneko said.
According to him, health professionals must be aware of the important role of depression in the development of cardiovascular disease and emphasize the importance of a comprehensive and patient-centered approach in prevention and management efforts.
He stated that assessing the risk of heart disease in depressed patients and preventing and treating depression can help reduce the number of cases of cardiovascular disease.
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2024-03-15 02:15:16
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