A new study by Emory University in Atlanta on the links between depression and heart disease has found that women 55 and younger are twice as likely to suffer from major heart problems if they have depression moderate or severe .
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the symptoms of depression in 3,237 people of about 62 years of age with heart disease (known or suspected) for whom an X-ray test that diagnoses the disease in the arteries had been scheduled. that send blood to the heart, that is, a coronary angiography. The patients, of whom 34% were women, were followed up for a period of three years.
After this period of time, the experts found that in women 55 and younger, each 1-point increase in symptoms of depression was associated with a 7% increased probability of heart disease. Thus, in women with moderate or severe depression, the probability of suffering a heart attack or dying from heart disease was 2.17 times more than for others.
“Women in this age group are more prone to depression, so this may be one of the 'hidden' risk factors that can help explain why women die at a disproportionately higher rate than men after a heart attack, ”says Amit Shah, study leader.
The conclusions of the study have been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association .
