From: gts (gts@optexinc.com)
Date: Sat Oct 05 2002 - 09:00:29 MDT
In this study referenced below, depressed men aged 65 to 69 were more than
twice as likely to die when compared to those who were not depressed. This
result is especially remarkable in that the researchers controlled for
obvious health risk factors, thus making depression an independent variable.
I think it's safe to say that depression is characterized by a reduced
motivation to live and be well, which makes this study compelling evidence
that our internal biological processes are "motivated" by our minds.
Unfortunately the body eventually breaks down regardless of one's motivation
to live. This is likely the reason that the depression effect disappears at
about age 70.
-gts
Death, Depression Link Stronger in Men
Fri Oct 4, 4:55 PM ET
By Dana Frisch
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers have long known that elderly people
who are depressed are at greater risk of dying in a certain time period than
their more hopeful peers. Now new study findings suggest that men may be
more susceptible to this effect than women--although the link may not be as
strong as previously suspected.
"Doctors need to be more aware of the effect of depression on physical
health," said Dr. Melanie Abas, lead author and a consultant psychiatrist on
the Research and Audit in Mental Health Services Team at South Auckland
Health in New Zealand. She said doctors may not treat depression if a
patient is depressed due to an "understandable" cause, such as heart
disease, arthritis or loss of a spouse.
In the study, published in a recent issue of the British Journal of
Psychiatry, Abas and colleagues examined data collected from over 2,600
participants aged 65 to 75, all part of a high blood pressure trial in the
UK begun in the mid-1980s. Participants completed a psychiatric test when
they enrolled, which included questions about depression.
Abas and her team collected mortality data on the subjects from the original
trial for analysis. They found that almost 5% of participants were depressed
and of these, over one-third died in the intervening years.
When researchers considered risk factors, such as cardiovascular and
cognitive health into their analysis, they found men, and people between 65
and 69 with depression were more than twice as likely to die during the
study as those who were not depressed. There was no link between depression
and mortality in those 70 or older, according to the report.
Abas said that as people age, other factors like cardiovascular health are
more important causes for death and "swamp the effect of the ones related to
depression." This research confirms other work that indicated that males
with depression are more likely to die than females.
Severe depression normally affects about 3% of seniors and Abas said it
continues to be under-treated and under-recognized. It is not known yet
whether treatment of major depression would reduce mortality, Abas said.
SOURCE: British Journal of Psychiatry 2002;181:123-128.
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