The risk of developing cardiovascular disease is also greater for people with multiple sclerosis and depression.
- Symptoms of depression are sadness, loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities, and severe fatigue.
- In this study, 21% of people with multiple sclerosis suffered from depression.
- About 110,000 people have multiple sclerosis in France
Nearly a third of people with multiple sclerosis suffer, or will suffer once in their life, from depression. These psychological disorders may be the consequence of disease-related brain damage or medication. The announcement of the diagnosis, the evolution of the disease or the social difficulties it generates can also generate depressive episodes. These have other consequences on the health of sick people. According to a study published in the journal Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology, depression, in the context of multiple sclerosis, increases the risk of death.
What is multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system: immune system cells attack myelin, the sheath that protects nerve fibers. This causes lesions in the brain and/or in the spinal cord, which will generate motor, balance, visual, etc. disorders. At the beginning of the disease, these symptoms are expressed in the form of a flare-up: they appear suddenly and then disappear. The treatments that exist today make it possible to prevent the appearance of these flare-ups. Sometimes, some people are later affected by a progressive form of the disease where the symptoms worsen and persist.
Greater risks
The study involved more than 80,000 participants: among them, 12,251 had multiple sclerosis. The authors of the study observed their medical history to identify the number of cardiovascular diseases and deaths over a period of ten years. By taking into account all the factors that have an impact on health, such as diabetes or smoking, they estimated that people with multiple sclerosis and depression had a five times higher risk of dying within ten years. to come, in comparison to the other participants. The conjunction of the two pathologies also increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Results to deepen
“These findings highlight the importance of detecting depression in people with multiple sclerosis, while monitoring other risk factors for cardiovascular disease“, concludes Raffaele Palladino, author of this study. He considers it necessary to continue research on this subject in order to understand if the treatment of depression can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as the risk of death. Other factors could also have an influence on this double risk, like the body mass index.
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