Also, women, smokers and diabetics are more likely to be clinically depressed, and the incidence of depression rises as people age. We feel it was low enough that it could possibly explain this increased risk for mortality that we and others have documented in past studies. Carney believes that the large amounts of stress hormones produced by depressed patients may effect the body's autonomic nervous system, which controls heart rate. The researchers will follow the study patients for at least 18 months to learn whether the depressed and nondepressed patients have different mortality rates. They also will determine whether treatment for depression improved heart-rate variability.
Patients do feel better after therapy.
What we don't know yet is whether their improved mood translates into higher heart-rate variability and reduced mortality. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.