A Public Health Nutrition study of 8,964 people in the Spanish SUN Project found those eating fast food were 51 percent more likely to develop depression, with higher intake linked to greater risk. The authors stress it was not a trial and no causal link was established.
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Disease
Depression in diabetics linked to higher risk for dementia
Among 19,239 diabetes patients aged 30 to 75 followed three to five years, 2.1 percent of those with depression were diagnosed with dementia versus 1.0 percent of those with diabetes alone, double the risk, Wayne Katon's team reports in Archives of General Psychiatry.
Vitamins
Depression linked to stroke, vitamin D may help both
Among 80,574 women in the Nurses' Health Study, those with a history of depression had 29% higher stroke risk over six years, and antidepressant users 39% higher; researchers suspect the drugs mark severity rather than cause strokes. The piece then floats vitamin D as a shared factor.
Drug
Acupuncture may help depression in postmenopausal women
In a 12-week trial of 72 postmenopausal women with hot flashes, both groups reported fewer depressive symptoms, and the acupuncture group saw a 54 percent reduction. Depressive symptoms tracked with sleep problems and self-reported health, not hot flash frequency.
Food
Unhealthy fats may lead to depression
Following 12,059 people who had never been depressed for six years, Spanish researchers recorded 657 cases and found up to 48 percent higher risk among those eating trans fats, with the effect growing as intake rose. Polyunsaturated fats and olive oil were tied to lower risk.
Lifestyle
Light Therapy Promising for Treating Major Depression
In a trial of nearly 90 adults aged 60 and over with clinical depression, an hour of bright light each morning for three weeks improved symptoms over controls, comparably to antidepressants, while raising evening melatonin and lowering cortisol.
Diet
Mediterranean diet may prevent diabetes, heart disease, depression
A New England Journal of Medicine trial found that patients with depression plus diabetes or heart disease did better under TEAMcare, in which a nurse tracked blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and mood alongside their doctors. At one year they were less depressed and better controlled.
Lifestyle
Video games impact teen depression and smoking
A Yale survey of 4,028 adolescents found 76.3 percent of boys and 29.2 percent of girls play video games, and 4.9 percent of gamers called their play problematic. The researchers linked problematic gaming to regular smoking, drug use, fighting and depression.
Lifestyle
Depressed smokers less likely to kick the habit
About 41% of callers to the California Smokers' Helpline reported some depression. Two months on, only one in five callers with major depression had stayed smoke-free, against one in three with mild depression. Most quitlines do not screen for depression.
Drug
Electroconvulsive therapy recommended for major depression
The American Psychiatric Association's first depression guideline update since 2000 lists electroconvulsive therapy for major depressive disorder in patients with severe symptoms or no response to medication, and adds transcranial magnetic stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation.
Cancer
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Physical Activity, Depression, Healthcare Reform
A study in Cancer analysed 1,162,596 Danish men and found those whose wives or girlfriends were diagnosed with breast cancer were 309 percent more likely to be hospitalized for a mood disorder such as major depression, suggesting male partners need emotional and social support.
Vitamins
Ketamine fights depression, so does vitamin D
Yale researchers mapped ketamine's action in the rat prefrontal cortex and found it works through a pathway requiring mTOR that quickly forms new synaptic connections, which may explain why it lifts depression within hours. The drug must still be given intravenously and can cause psychotic symptoms.
Miscellaneous
Ketamine: Magic Depression Drug?
Ronald Duman's group reports that a single dose of ketamine can produce an antidepressant effect within hours, lasting up to a week, far faster than drugs that take weeks or months. Ketamine can trigger psychosis, harm brain function with long-term use and kill at high doses.
Lifestyle
Is Exercise the Best Drug for Depression?
Psychologist Jasper Smits is testing exercise as a treatment for anxiety and mood disorders. Aerobic programs have repeatedly improved depression about as much as medication does and appear to prevent relapse, and researchers suggest exercise may shift serotonin and norepinephrine.
Diet
Plant-based diet may help depression, dementia
Vitamins
Does Depression Cause Alzheimer's Disease? Vitamin D Helps Both!
A Neurology study of 949 Framingham participants found 22 percent of those depressed at the start developed dementia over 17 years, against about 17 percent of the rest. Author Jane Saczynski says the data cannot show whether depression causes dementia or the reverse.
Vitamins
B-vitamins linked to lower risk of depression
Following 3,503 adults aged 65 or older for 12 years, researchers tied each extra 10 mg of vitamin B-6 and 10 micrograms of B-12 in total intake to 2% lower annual risk of depressive symptoms. Dietary intake alone showed no such association.
Lifestyle
Marie Osmond's son Michael Blosil commits suicide: What you need to know
Michael Blosil, 18, left a note citing a lifelong battle with depression before jumping to his death from his Los Angeles apartment. The piece turns to FDA research covering 372 trials, which found antidepressants raised suicide risk in people under 25 and lowered it after 65.
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