In patients hospitalized because of mononucleosis, the risk of depression would be 40% higher.
- The increased risk of depression lasts for four years after hospitalization for treatment of severe mononucleosis.
- This could be caused by the activation of the immune system but further studies are needed to identify the causes.
The “kissing disease”, or mononucleosis, owes its name to its transmission through saliva. Most of the time, this acute viral infection is mild, but in some cases it can lead to hospitalization. For these patients, who are said to have severe mononucleosis, the risk of depression would be increased. This is the result of a large study conducted by Danish researchers from the University of Aarhus and published on February 9 in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
A 40% higher risk of depression
This study is the first to demonstrate the correlation between severe mononucleosis and the risk of depression. “Previous studies on the correlation between mononucleosis and depression were mostly small studies and so the correlation has not been clear. This study is the first major study able to demonstrate the correlation with later risk of depression with high statistical strength.”, assures Nina Vindegaard, co-lead author of the study.
The researchers drew on data from 1.4 million participants, of whom 12,510 consulted or were admitted to hospital with infectious mononucleosis. Among them, 3%, or 358 people, subsequently developed depression requiring hospital follow-up. The risk of developing depression appears “40% higher” for patients hospitalized with mononucleosis and this risk lasts up to four years after infection. “It is well known that mononucleosis can cause long-term fatigue but we also identify an increased risk of major depression, in about 1 in 35 patients hospitalized with mononucleosis”, advances Dr. Michael Eriksen Benrós, lead author of the study
The immune system could be to blame
The exact cause of this correlation has not been established by the study authors, but they suggest that it could be caused by the immune system. “We know that mononucleosis infection can lead to long-term fatigue, but the actual underlying mechanisms as to how this occurs to a greater extent for this particular infection compared to many other infections have not been identified. The general hypothesis is that it occurs through the activation of the immune system, which may also be the cause of the increased risk of depression.”, says Dr. Michael Eriksen Benrós.
For the authors of the study, these findings are significant”both for the patient and his parents but also to a greater extent for general practitioners”. Mononucleosis mainly affects young people, especially those between the ages of 10 and 25. Symptoms include fatigue, neck pain, fever, and swollen lymph nodes and are usually treated with rest and oral treatments.
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