The study, published in PLOS Medicine, looked at more than 172,500 people aged 40 to 71 who were part of the UK Biobank project. Over a seven-year period, researchers tracked the participants to detect the onset of 69 chronic physical conditions.
At the start, 18% of the participants already had depression. People in this group had an average of three long-term physical health problems, while those without a history of depression had an average of only two.
Over time, people with a history of depression developed new conditions 30% faster than those without a history.
Conditions commonly associated with depression were osteoarthritis (15.7% vs. 12.5%), high blood pressure (12.9% vs. 12.0%), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (13.8% vs. 9.6%).
Experts stress that existing health systems are ill-equipped to meet the needs of people facing both mental and physical problems.
A higher incidence of comorbid health problems was found in people with a history of depression compared to those without diagnosed with this disorder. Our findings highlight the need to view depression as a whole-body condition and the importance of an integrated approach to treating mental and physical health, the study concludes.
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