If you are elderly and depressed, you have a 3 times greater chance of having a stroke.
A Swedish study tracked a group of depressed 85 year-olds including some who had dementia over a 3 year period; and found that the chances of them having their first stroke were triple that of people who weren’t depressed.
The researchers also found an association between high blood pressure and first stroke. However “analysis …of depression revealed that depressed mood was the only predictor of first-time stroke.”
Once again, these results demonstrate how devastating depression can be to your overall health; and the urgency with which this chronic and sometimes progress illness needs to be addressed.
For more see Depression One of the Planet’s Most Devastating Diseases.
