3 ms·

Inflammation links heart disease and depression, study finds

49 points by lelf 8y ago

projektir 8y ago
I'd like to know what this means on a practical level. Say you had depression and/or anxiety. What does that mean? Are there tests you should run? Is there any point telling your doctor about it?
SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
I'm a bit dubious about the connection between heart disease and depression explicitly. Inflammation seems to be the general "something is wrong" check engine light of the body, and so drawing cause/effect from it, or even co-morbidity based upon it's presence makes me wonder. I wonder what lines could be drawn between another pair of conditions that are caused by/cause inflammation, like anxiety and diabetes.
- 0xcde4c3db 8y ago
  You're not wrong, but on the other hand this is far from the only thing suggesting a link between cardiovascular disease and depression. The "vascular depression" hypothesis has been around for a while, and post-stroke emotional changes are a well-established phenomenon.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    > post-stroke emotional changes are a well-established phenomenon. I'm not arguing with you, I'm just looking for more information on this point - wouldn't it be hard to suss out the difference between the depression caused by the inflammation and the actual neurologically damaging event that is a stroke? And does inflammation occur after the stroke? I would assume it would be there leading up to it as well - after all aren't strokes mostly caused by plaque or clot build up which would be caused by inflammation? Does the same post-stroke emotional changes occur with hemorrhagic strokes?
- lazerpants 8y ago
  If there is a connection it probably has to do with depression being a disorder based in unstopped inflammation. Some studies suggest that in depression typically self-limiting parts of the glucocorticoid system are broken, which means inflammations levels just go up and up (and probably effect the heart, among other organs). Here's a very good paper and accessible paper on the subject if you're curious: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X17302109 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X1...

49 points by lelf 8y ago

I'd like to know what this means on a practical level. Say you had depression and/or anxiety. What does that mean? Are there tests you should run? Is there any point telling your doctor about it?

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

I'm a bit dubious about the connection between heart disease and depression explicitly. Inflammation seems to be the general "something is wrong" check engine light of the body, and so drawing cause/effect from it, or even co-morbidity based upon it's presence makes me wonder. I wonder what lines could be drawn between another pair of conditions that are caused by/cause inflammation, like anxiety and diabetes.

0xcde4c3db 8y ago
You're not wrong, but on the other hand this is far from the only thing suggesting a link between cardiovascular disease and depression. The "vascular depression" hypothesis has been around for a while, and post-stroke emotional changes are a well-established phenomenon.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  > post-stroke emotional changes are a well-established phenomenon. I'm not arguing with you, I'm just looking for more information on this point - wouldn't it be hard to suss out the difference between the depression caused by the inflammation and the actual neurologically damaging event that is a stroke? And does inflammation occur after the stroke? I would assume it would be there leading up to it as well - after all aren't strokes mostly caused by plaque or clot build up which would be caused by inflammation? Does the same post-stroke emotional changes occur with hemorrhagic strokes?
lazerpants 8y ago
If there is a connection it probably has to do with depression being a disorder based in unstopped inflammation. Some studies suggest that in depression typically self-limiting parts of the glucocorticoid system are broken, which means inflammations levels just go up and up (and probably effect the heart, among other organs). Here's a very good paper and accessible paper on the subject if you're curious: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X17302109 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X1...