Depression – Death Link

Americans ages 50 years and older who suffer from major depression may be at a 43% increases risk of death – especially from cardiovascular disease or cancer. Jarron M. Saint Onge, from the University of Kansas (Kansas, USA), and colleagues analyzed  dfata from the 1999 National Health Interview Study and linked it to the 2006 National Death Index, which included a sample size of 11,369 adults respondents ages 50 and older, of whom 2,162 have died from non-suicide or accident related deaths. To measure major depression, the team used data derived from the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short-Form (CIDI-SF).   Data revealed that major depression associated with a 43% increase in the risk of death over the follow-up period, after adjusting for confounding factors.  Specifically, major depression associated with 2.68 times the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality among those who did not have cardiovascular disease at baseline and 1.82 times for those with baseline cardiovascular disease.  Observing that: ”health behaviors reduce the hazard ratio by 17% for all nonsuicide mortality, 3% for cardiovascular disease mortality, and 12% for cancer mortality,” the study authors submit that: “Our results provide evidence of the important role of health behaviors and health conditions in the depression-mortality relationship and highlight the importance of identifying risk factors for depression among aging adults.”