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(Ivanhoe Newswire) Anxiety and depression have been implicated in cardiovascular disease, but researchers have been unsure how these psychological factors translate to a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.
New research out of the United Kingdom suggests it isn't the psychological factors themselves, but what they cause people to do that makes the difference. In a study of more than 6,500 people who were followed for about seven years, they found a significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular problems in people suffering from depression and anxiety. But further analysis blamed a large part of the problem on two major lifestyle habits: smoking and physical inactivity.
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The researchers speculate depression and anxiety increase the likelihood people will smoke and fail to get enough exercise, and it is those two factors that really put them at increased risk for heart problems. While depressed people were about 50 percent more likely than happier people to develop cardiovascular disease, 63 percent of the increased risk was explained by smoking and physical inactivity.
"It's very important that physicians try to identify psychological distress, but it's also important to look at the behaviors and the risk factors that are associated with it," study author Mark Hamer, Ph.D., a senior research fellow at University College London, was quoted as saying. "We're suggesting that you might have to intervene in the more intermediate pathways, which is the behavior, in addition to trying to treat the psychological problems."
SOURCE: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, published online December 15, 2008
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