Depression Tied to Having More Physical Health Conditions
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2025 -- Middle-aged and older adults with a history of depression have more long-term physical health conditions at baseline and develop additional physical conditions at a faster rate than those without a history of depression, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in PLOS Medicine.
Kelly J. Fleetwood, from University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and colleagues quantified the association between depression and the subsequent rate of accrual of long-term physical health conditions in middle and older age. The analysis included 172,556 participants from the U.K. Biobank (aged 40 to 71 years old at baseline assessment in 2006 to 2010).
The researchers found that compared with those without depression, participants with depression had more physical conditions at baseline (mean 2.9 versus 2.1) and developed additional physical conditions at a faster rate (mean 0.20 versus 0.16 additional conditions per year during follow-up). When adjusting for age and sex, participants with depression developed physical morbidities at a faster rate than those without depression (relative risk [RR], 1.32). The rate of new conditions still remained higher in those with versus without depression when adjusting for all sociodemographic characteristics (RR, 1.30). When further adjusting for baseline condition count and social/lifestyle factors, this association attenuated but remained statistically significant (RR, 1.10).
"Our findings highlight the importance of integrated approaches to managing both mental and physical health outcomes," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted February 2025
Read this next
Helping Others Linked to Higher Level of Cognitive Function
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- Helping others, both via formal volunteering and informal helping, is associated with higher levels of cognitive function and slower cognitive decline...
TAR-200 Monotherapy Promising for BCG-Unresponsive Bladder Cancer
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- For patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), an intravesical...
Work-Related Income Drops for Parents of Children Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- Work-related income decreases sharply for mothers and fathers of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, with similar effects across sociodemographic...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.