Exposure to even a low level of psychological distress could lead to the development of cardiovascular disease or arthritis in the long run, according to a new Scottish study.
It is well known that psychological distress is the root cause of many ailments. But if science has long established that being very depressed can lead to cardiovascular disease, arthritis or diabetes, it seems that even a low level of distress can have deleterious long-term health impacts. , according to a new Scottish study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in June.
Using a center collecting data on the health, well-being and lifestyle of UK citizens, researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied information from 16,485 adults over a three-year period. They looked for links between psychological distress and the development of chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, also looking to see if associations of this kind could be explained by changing factors such as eating habits, l ‘exercise, smoking, or the socioeconomic status of the people studied.
Result: compared to patients who had reported no symptoms of psychological distress, those who had reported low levels of distress were 57% more likely to develop inflammatory rheumatism. In addition, those who had mentioned a moderate and severe level of distress were respectively 72% and 110% more exposed.
What’s more, participants with low levels of distress were 46% more likely to develop cardiovascular risks, while those who reported moderate and strong levels were at + 77% and + 189%, respectively.
Finally, if it would appear that a low level of distress has no impact on lung cancer, a moderate level and a strong level would increase the chances of developing such a disease by 125% and 148%, respectively. The researchers, however, found no link between psychological distress and the development of diabetes.
“An important discovery that could have significant clinical implications”
“Also, intervening to reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety could help prevent the development of diseases for some people,” said one of the study’s authors, Professor Catherine Gale, of the University of Southampton. “Studying distress could help identify patients who are at risk of developing rheumatism, lung cancer or cardiovascular disease. Helping cope with the distress could therefore limit the progression of disease, even for people who are very depressed. “, she develops, encouraging doctors to always take into account the psychological state of their patients.
With distress being a potentially modifiable factor, if the links found in this study are confirmed by further research, it could pave the way for new preventive strategies for chronic disease, other scientists agree. Indeed, for Professor Cyrus Cooper of the British Medical Research Council, these findings have “the potential to have a major impact on the prevention of chronic diseases”. Dr Ian Simpson, former president of the British Cardiovascular Society, concludes: “Cardiovascular disease remains one of the main causes of death and disability. Also, knowing that distress, even at a low level, is also a risk factor, is an important finding that could have significant clinical implications. ”
In people without any psychiatric disorder, psychological distress usually occurs following one or more traumatic events. This is a process in which signs of stress and anxiety appear. Its manifestations are physical (insomnia, fatigue, muscle pain, migraines), cognitive (disturbances in attention, difficulty concentrating), emotional (anger, irritability, sadness, excitability) and behavior (social isolation or alcohol abuse, for example. example).
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