Depression and heart disease

A long-term study of 1,196 elderly (over 64) people in Finland has shown that depression can lead to heart disease over a long period of time as well as in the short-term. The study measured people's levels of depression at the start, deliberately excluding anyone who already had heart disease symptoms, then followed them up over the next 12 years to see what illnesses they developed. Stronger symptoms of depression at the start of the study were linked to a higher rate of death from heart disease in both men and women.

Ahto, Merja ... [et al] - Stronger symptoms of depression predict high coronary heart disease mortality in older men and women International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2007, 22: 757-763