My daughter is 21 and has a severe case of depression. Months after her graduation, I found her in her room, about to jump out the window and I succeeded in calming her down. Her behaviour is very unpredictable and I do not let her take antidepressants, as I know they have very terrible effects. What else should I expect? What should I be weary of? I am very desperate. Dawn x'
'Dear Lady Science,
Dear Dawn
I am sorry to hear about your daughter's condition
and congratulate you for being strong so far. People who are depressed do not have the ability to 'pull
themselves together' and advising them to do so will not cure depression. Without
proper treatment such as antidepressants and psychotherapy, depression can last
for years.
The evidence that clinical depression affects
physical health is mounting and yes, there are many other things that could go
wrong besides your daughter being suicidal. Recently, a study has shown that depression, or a
history of suicide attempts in young adults, especially young women increases
the risk of dying from heart disease.
First of all, the researchers were able to
establish that older age, white race, smoking, cocaine use and even being of
the female sex are factors related to depression. They also added that the
above listed factors and others including a sedentary behaviour are associated
with higher rates of attempted suicide. This suggests that the fact that your
child is female puts her in an 'at risk' position and this, obviously cannot be
changed. However, maybe you could look out for other habits she is developing
such as cocaine use, or a sedentary lifestyle. Adjusting her lifestyle may go a
long way in affecting her moods and thoughts, which could help with the
depression. Although during the research, they
noticed that even after adjustment for health behaviours, there was still a
significant risk of depression and a history of attempted suicide, suggesting
that the physiological effects of depression may actually play a greater role
in the young population.
Clinical depression has been associated with
increased risk of heart disease in a lot of research however none of these
investigations have focused on the younger population. This study is the first
to focus solely on young people, as depression is highly prevalent in young
people aged 18 even up to 44.
What is significant about this research is that it
found an association between depression, a history of attempted suicide and
heart disease, while exploring differences in genders.
The researchers took data from 7641 people, aged 17
to 39, who participated in a nationwide survey between 1988 and 1994 in the US.
The aim was to obtain nationally representative estimates on diet and health
indicators and they were able to find out that women with depression or a
history of attempted suicide had three times more risk of heart disease and 14
times more risk of getting a heart attack. Men on the other hand had 2.4 times
higher risk for heart disease and 3.5 times higher risk of getting a heart
attack. Going by these findings, your daughter has a very high risk of going on
to develop heart disease so you should look out for that.
So although they found that a history of attempted
suicide was predictive of dying from heart disease or a heart attack, they also
pointed out that people with a history of attempted suicide may be affected by
other psychiatric disorders in addition to depression and this may also
increase the risk for heart disease. Has your daughter been properly diagnosed?
Has she been checked for other underlying psychiatric issues?
You may be wondering why a condition of the brain
is affecting the heart but this has been explained in the research. Patients with the tendency to commit suicide have changes in the
brain that are similar to changes seen in patients in a state of severe stress. The researchers pointed out that depression increases the risk
of a heart attack through several stress related psychological mechanisms that
may occur in people with a history of attempted suicide. Therefore, the perceived
stress signals is what induces heart problems. The time interval between
heartbeats for example, which is a normal risk factor for a heart attack, is
lower in people with depression compared to people without. Furthermore,
the researchers stated that cortisol secretion, which is increased in
depression, has potential adverse effects on the heart.
Concerning your view on antidepressants, I would
like to point out the fact that this research did not include the use of
antidepressants as a risk factor and this is because although only about 5.7%
of people with depression or a history if suicide reported the use of
antidepressants, no heart disease events occurred in them. So it may actually
be worth a try to use antidepressants and just report any side effects to a
professional, so they can have it adjusted for your daughter's needs.
Do not feel overwhelmed by the information
as the point of it all is that psychological factors such as depression play a
significant role in deaths due to heart disease in young people. Also note that
depressed women have a higher risk and are more susceptible to dying from a
heart attack. The reason why this research was carried out is because premature death has a high impact on
families and the workforce. So a knowledge of this
could equip you to be more proactive and not neglect your daughter's overall
well being, including the state of her heart. Untimely death can be prevented
and I hope the results I have highlighted have answered some of your questions.
I can only give you factual knowledge and I suggest
you also contact the Samaritans as they offer confidential support for people
experiencing depression on:
Phone: 08457909090
Website: www.samaritans.org.uk
Hope your daughter feels better soon.
Lady Science
Source: JAMA Network | JAMA Psychiatry | Depression and History of Attempted Suicide as Risk Factors for Heart Disease Mortality in Young Individuals, http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1107340, accessed: 1/05/2013
Direct all your questions to: youngpeoplesci@gmail.com
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