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April 18 (UPI) -- A new study posted on Tuesday suggests that effective management of depression through psychological therapy can lower the likelihood of heart disease -- in some cases up to 15%. The research connecting depression and heart disease was published in the European Heart Journal, from the European Society of Cardiology.
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The study is being called the first of its kind examining the relationship between reducing depression symptoms in lowering the likelihood of future cardiovascular disease.
The study examines the results of 636,955 adults with depression from more than 45 national electronic health record databases in England. They had completed a course of psychological therapy and did not have cardiovascular disease or dementia.
The author reviewed information on psychological treatment, incidences of cardiovascular disease and death in their research.
"Our study suggests that improving mental health could also help physical health, especially in those aged under 60," said author Celine El Baou, a doctoral student at University College London.
"People whose depression symptoms improved after therapy had a 10% to 15% lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those who did not improve. Comparable effects were found in similar studies investigating low-fat diets," she said.
Depression level was assessed before and after therapy through point-scale grading of a series of feelings by the subject from feeling hopeless or troubled to wanting to cause self-harm. An improvement resulted in a reduction on the point scale.
The author said that during a median follow-up of 3.1 years, depression symptoms improved in 59% of participants and did not improve in 41%. She said the improvement in depression was associated with lowered cardiovascular risk from 12% to 19% in various test groups.
The researchers analyzed the results to adjust for characteristics that could influence the relationships, such as age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic deprivation and other health conditions.
"Our findings emphasize the importance of making psychological treatments more widely available and accessible to enhance mental and physical health," El Baou said. "This is especially relevant for certain groups who face barriers to accessing psychological therapies and are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease.
"Collaborative care systems where specialists from both disciplines work together could be one way to make treatment more accessible and obtain better outcomes overall."
The author stressed that the results do not definitively prove that reductions in cardiovascular disease were caused by relief of depression. The study did not include lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking and inactivity, which could raise the possibility of cardiovascular disease and limit the effect of psychological treatment.
In another study in the journal Neurology in March, researchers found a connection between depression symptoms and stroke risk, saying that about 18% of those who experienced a stroke had symptoms of depression, compared to 14% of those who did not have a stroke.
