A new study published in the journal Health Psychology found that women who are diagnosed with Depression are at a higher risk of developing multiple chronic diseases. The researchers suggest that keeping a healthy environment while maintaining a healthy life and taking a balanced diet while involving regular physical activities is highly advisable to get free from depressive hormones and its resulting disorders.
For the study, the health conditions of 7,407 middle-aged women were studied over a period of 20 years. It was found that women who are diagnosed with depression of any level, are at a higher risk of getting diagnosed with one or such multiple chronic diseases including anxiety, diabetes, heart disease, or even cancer.
43 percent of the women who were diagnosed with depression, when further tested, came with 63.6 percent of cases in which they developed any of such chronic diseases. This percent counted to 2,035 women of the total women. This study showed that suffering from depression or anxiety leads to unhealthy traits which increase the risk of other critical health issues as well.
A Ph.D. scholar at the University of Queensland in Australia said “These days, many people suffer from multiple chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. We looked at how women progress in the development of these chronic diseases before and after the onset of depressive symptoms.”
The study showed that women who were never diagnosed with depression, are 1.8 times more likely to develop severe health issues. And those who have been diagnosed with depressive symptoms are 2.4 times more likely to generate chronic health disorders.
Xiaolin Xu said “Healthcare professionals need to know that clinical and sub-clinical depression (elevated depressive symptoms) can be linked to other chronic physical conditions. He also kept on stating the advantages of maintaining a healthy life to avoid these kinds of health issues and diagnosis.
