Association between depression and early death remains strong among men and has ramped up among women over the past two decades, results of a long-term community-based study suggest. Researchers examined 60 years of mental health data of over 3000 adults from a region in Atlantic Canada and linked the data to deaths in the Canadian Mortality Database. They found that the link between depression and early death among women emerged in the early 1990s and increased by 50% between 1992 and 2011. Their findings also suggest that the risk of death associated with depression appeared strongest in the years following a depressive episode. Study authors suggest that family physicians should monitor patients for mood disturbances, especially recurrent episodes of depression, so that they may offer treatment and support.
Authors:
Stephen E. Gilman, Ewa Sucha, Mila Kingsbury, Nicholas J. Horton, Jane M. Murphy and Ian Colman
Corresponding author:
Stephen Gilman, Email: stephen.gilman@nih.gov
Canadian authors:
Ewa Sucha, Mila Kingsbury, Ian Colman, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, ON
Original paper published in CMAJ on October 23, 2017.
