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More Fallout From Depression

Pittsburgh, Pa.

I read with interest the article in the March 15 issue titled "Depression and Stroke: A Two-Way Street." This article summarizes results from the Caerphilly study suggesting that "psychological distress" may be a risk factor for a fatal stroke.

My colleagues and I conducted a study, titled "The Malignancy of Recurrent, Early-Onset Major Depression: A Family Study," that illustrates even more dramatically the malignancy of severe depression. The study was published last year in issue 8, volume 105, of the American Journal of Medical Genetics—Neuropsychiatry Genetics.

Alarming data from our study showed an extraordinary effect of recurrent, early-onset major depression (RE-MDD) on the longevity of family members. The mean and median ages of death for relatives of people with RE-MDD were shifted toward younger ages across the entire life span, including a fivefold increase in the apparent infant mortality rate. In the study, family members lived an average of eight fewer years; more than 40 percent of deceased family members died before reaching age 65. Older family members were also at greater-than-average risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

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