Women's Heart Risk - Depression

Depression, Heart Disease Risk Linked In Women

By Tony Cappasso, Contributing Writer
March 7, 2001, 11:39 a.m. EST

Researchers claimed in a May medical journal article that being depressed put women at increased risk of developing heart disease. The findings were published in the May 8 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health studied the health reports of more than 5,000 women who participated in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I). The women were in the survey between 1982 and 1992. None of them had symptoms of heart disease when the study began. At the beginning of the study, 17.5 percent of the women were classified as depressed. During the study period, women experienced 187 nonfatal and 137 fatal heart attacks. Depressed women were at 73 percent greater risk for heart disease than were women who were not depressed.

Symptoms of depression include depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities, loss of appetite or an unintentional weight change, problems of too little or too much sleep, feelings of restlessness or sluggishness, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, inability to think clearly or concentrate, complete tasks, or make decisions and thoughts of death or suicide.

What still remains mysterious, the researchers admitted, is the mechanism whereby depression increases heart attack risk. They suggested further research to test out the basics of the relationship.

For more on heart disease and women, go the Web site of the American Heart Association.

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