Depression is linked to an increased risk of heart disease in women, according to a new report released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
Researchers at StatsCan analyzed data from almost 5,000 men and women and found that women with depression have a 70 per cent increased risk of developing heart disease compared to women who do not have depression.
However, in contrast to previous research on the topic, the report did not find the same risk of heart disease among men.
"You would still expect to see it here," Heather Gilmour, lead study author and senior analyst at StatsCan, told CTV.ca. "And I suspect a possible reason could be that our follow-up and our sample size just aren't long enough and big enough for that association to emerge. So if we follow it for another few years we may see that showing up in men."
Previous research has linked depression and heart disease in both men and women. However, how one may affect the other is still unknown.
One theory is that people with depression are more likely to have risk factors for heart disease, such as a poor diet, lower levels of physical activity and a history of smoking or drinking, Gilmour said.
However, the study's findings remain true when heart disease risk factors are accounted for. There, scientists also theorize that there is a physiological component that can increase a depression patient's risk for heart disease. These may include a genetic predisposition for the disease or inflammatory processes in a patient's body, which are markers for a host of diseases.
For this study, researchers analyzed data from the National Population Health Survey from 1994-1995 to 2006-2007. The data was taken from almost 5,000 men and women aged 40 or older who did not report having heart disease at the beginning of the study.
According to information contained in the report, heart disease is the second leading cause of disability for men worldwide and the third leading cause of disability for women. As well, depression is the fourth leading cause of disability among men and the leading cause among women.
Gilmour said that the report not only supports medical literature that suggests a link between depression and heart disease, "but also it would highlight the importance of monitoring people with depression for the development of heart disease, particularly women."
