Inflammation could increase the risk of heart disease and depression: Study

A new study has found inflammation, which stems from psychological and physical stress, could significantly increase the risk of heart disease and depression.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge wanted to investigate the link as many patients who suffer from depression tend to also develop heart disease.

“It is possible that heart disease and depression share common underlying biological mechanisms, which manifest as two different conditions in two different groups -- the cardiovascular system and the brain,” researcher Dr Golam Khandaker told a news portal. Adding, “Our work suggests that inflammation could be a shared mechanism for these conditions.”

For the study, the team examined different genes for depression and heart disease in close to 370,000 participants in the UK. Family history, researchers say plays a huge role. Close to 20 per cent of the participants were likely to develop the mental health issue if a parent died from heart disease. The results also showed individual environmental factors made a significant impact. Researchers identified15 biomarkers of heart disease, out of which two were also indicative of depression. Those two biomarkers also had links to inflammation.

“Although we don’t know what the shared mechanisms between these diseases are, we now have clues to work with that point towards the involvement of the immune system,” said Dr Stephen Burgess told a news portal. Adding, “Identifying genetic variants that regulate modifiable risk factors helps to find what is actually driving disease risk.”

While further research is needed to further investigate these links, experts urge people to avoid foods that contain inflammatory properties.