Being Fit in Middle Age May Protect Against Depression

About 16 million adults in the U.S., and 350 million people around the world, have depression, a major source of physical and mental disability. It affects people’s employment and their ability to socialize and maintain relationships. Now, in a large study published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers say there may be a relatively inexpensive, non-invasive way to combat depression, beginning in middle-age. The scientists, led by Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, director of the center for depression research and clinical care at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, report that being physically fit can lower the risk of developing depression, and can also lower the risk of developing heart disease and dying early. “Depression doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” says Trivedi, senior author of the paper. “Especially for people who are older, depression has a complicated relationship with other major medical diseases.” People with depression, for example, typically have lower life expectancy, in part because they are at higher risk of other chronic conditions like heart disease, but Trivedi says that exercise, which can improve fitness, might be a way to extend that life expectancy. Trivedi and his colleagues analyzed data from nearly 18,000 people, who were an average age of 50 and enrolled in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, an ongoing study of the role of exercise on a variety of health outcomes. The data included information on people&...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime Mental Health/Psychology Source Type: news