Title: Biosocial mechanisms linking depression with physical illness: Commonalities across chronic illnesses
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to understand more about biosocial pathways in health by studying depression symptoms and how they relate to physical illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. We already know that people suffering from these diseases are more likely to experience symptoms of depression than those without them. We also know that people who experience depression symptoms are more likely to develop a physical illness later in life. However, as yet, we are not sure why depression symptoms and physical illnesses are related in these ways. I am particularly interested in the biological pathways linking depression symptoms and physical illnesses. These pathways include things like how our bodies respond to stress and how well our immune system works. For example, I am interested in a substance called cortisol which is released by the body when we feel stressed or sad. I am also interested in part of the immune system which is responsible for levels of inflammation. Research has shown that cortisol and inflammation do not work as well as they should in people who have depression symptoms or a physical illness. Therefore, I am interested in finding out whether changes in these things can explain the link between depression symptoms and physical illness morbidity in people who suffer from a variety of different physical illnesses. My research fits in well with the ESRC's priorities for this award: biosocial research and secondary analyses of longitudinal data. I am proposing to conduct biosocial research since I am planning to study the biology of a problem that society is facing. In addition, I intend to use longitudinal data that has already been collected, but has not yet been used to answer the questions I am interested in. I will use two main methods to analyse my data: quantitative analyses of existing data and qualitative analyses of a new study. I will use data from studies such as Whitehall II, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), and Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS) among others. Using these datasets will allow me to partly answer my questions using statistical analyses. In addition, I will conduct a qualitative study in order to speak to individuals living with either a mental or physical illness about their experiences of depression symptoms. This will enable me to explore how people think, feel and cope with their illnesses and their mood. This research is important for a number of reasons. First of all, research has shown that people who have depression symptoms and a physical illness are likely to experience more symptoms of their physical illness than those without depression symptoms. In other words, they are more likely to feel sicker than those without depression symptoms. This links to the second important reason. If we understand why people with physical illness also get depression symptoms then we can improve our treatment of these individuals. At the moment, our current treatment options are not always very effective. So, not only do these people suffer more symptoms of their illness, their depression symptoms do not always go away with treatment. If we can improve treatment, then we can reduce suffering. Another reason that this research is important is the scale of the problem. Currently a lot of people with a physical illness also experience depression symptoms. Sadly, research has shown that a lot of these patients do not get identified by doctors as needing extra help. I plan to raise awareness of this issue during the course of my fellowship by ensuring I reach out to policymakers, health professionals and the public.


Research activity codes: 2.1 BIOLOGICAL AND ENDOGENOUS FACTORS;7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS
Health categories: CANCER AND NEOPLASMS;CARDIOVASCULAR;MENTAL HEALTH;METABOLIC AND ENDOCRINE