CHICAGO, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- People who show signs of depression -- like fatigue and loss of appetite -- may be at risk for cardiovascular disease, U.S. researchers said Monday.
In a study reported in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the Chicago-based American Medical Association's JAMA/Archives journals, Jesse Stewart, assistant professor of psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, said the physical signs of depression correlate with thickening of the carotid arteries in the neck.
Carotid artery thickening is considered a sign of overall health of the arteries -- including that of the coronary blood vessels.
"Higher depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with greater three-year change in carotid intima-media thickness, even after taking into account demographic factors, cardiovascular risk factors, medication use, medical conditions and other correlated negative emotions," Stewart said.
The researchers studied 324 men and women who were an average of 60.6 years old. At the beginning of the study, participants attended 11 visits in a five-month period, including a medical screening; testing for cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol; questionnaires to assess depression, anxiety, hostility and anger; and ultrasound tests to determine carotid artery intima-media thickness.
"Taken together, our results indicate that depression, but perhaps not anxiety and hostility/anger, may be involved in the initiation and/or progression of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)," Stewart said.
