The possibility of suffering depression is linked to the possibility of suffering cardiovascular disease according to a study by project SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) of the CIBEROBN published in the journal World Psychiatry in February, one of the journals with the greatest worldwide impact in the field of psychiatry. Thus, monitoring the risk of circulatory diseases would also serve to prevent the possibility of suffering depression .

The research, led by Dr. Miguel A. Martínez-González, Full Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Navarra and Full Professor visitor at Harvard University, studied the possibility of suffering a major cardiovascular event (such as heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death) in 16,739 patients over 14 years, classifying them into groups of higher and lower risk.

During this time, "it was found that the percentage of participants who developed depression increased at the same time as the propensity to suffer from cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Patricio Molero, lead author of work and Psychiatry specialist at Clínica Universidad de Navarra.

A work with public health consequences

The finding has consequences not only for the medical and health field, but also for public health in general. "From now on, it is known that by controlling risk factors such as smoking, obesity, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle or unhealthy diets, among others, there is the additional benefit of reducing the possibility of suffering from depression.

It will also be able to be evaluated using common tools at internship to predict cardiovascular risk and prevent both diseases together. "Finally, it provides more evidence and an easy and direct message for prevention through the maintenance of healthy habits and lifestyles".