Cardiovascular disease is a known risk factor for depression. And it now appears that when people take statin drugs to lower their cholesterol levels, they experience a significantly reduced risk of major depression. The study was based on almost 1,000 people with stable coronary artery disease seen at outpatient clinics in the San Francisco area. Their statin use and depressive symptoms were tracked over six years. The finding, which was published February 21 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, was the subject of coverage in the March 5 New York Times.Another aspect of the strong link that exists between depression and cardiovascular disease is that depression appears to raise the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. For example, in a longitudinal study of young adults, subjects who had been depressed were twice as likely to experience a fatal cardiovascular event as those who had not been depressed. More information about this study can be found in Psychiatric News .
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