Depression and heart disease may be linked for women: StatsCan

Though depression in women is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, it's not the case with men, suggests new research from Statistics Canada.

The study, Depression and Risk of Heart Disease, was conducted over a 12-year period. It found that among people aged 40 or older without heart disease in 1994/1995, 19 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women had developed or passed away from heart disease by 2006/2007.

There were 4, 948 respondents in the study, which was released Wednesday.

The study found that 16.8 per cent of women and 10.9 per cent of men had experienced depression. Women who were depressed were significantly more likely to have a heart disease event than those without the condition. For men, that risk was insignificant.

Study author Heather Gilmour said women had a 70 per cent greater risk of developing heart disease if they had been depressed.

But she said for men, the increased risk was less than one per cent.

However, the researchers refuse to make a causal relationship between depression and heart disease.

Both men and women who experienced depression were more likely to be current smokers and were more likely to be taking antidepressants than those who did not have depression.

Women who reported being depressed were less likely to have never been drinkers, to have high blood pressure, to be using hormone replacement therapy and to have a high income.