Study Finds Link Between Depression and Osteoporosis

According to researchers, there is a clear connection between depression and a loss of bone mass, leading to osteoporosis and fractures, and the relationship between depression and bone loss is particularly strong among young women.

Osteoporosis is the most widespread degenerative disease in the developed world, afflicting 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 50. Osteoporosis sufferers experience decrease in bone density, which often leads to bone fractures and in many cases these fractures cause severe disability and even death.

Despite the accumulating evidence for a connection between depression and decreased bone density, depression as a risk factor for osteoporosis has not yet been acknowledged due to the lack of studies in large samples.

For this study, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 23 research projects conducted in eight countries, comparing bone density among 2,327 people suffering from depression against 21,141 non-depressed individuals.

The results of the study show clearly that depressed individuals have a substantially lower bone density than non-depressed people and that depression is associated with a markedly elevated activity of osteoclasts (cells that breakdown bone).

The researchers found that the association between depression and bone loss was stronger in women than men, especially young women before the end of their monthly period. This connection was especially strong in women with clinical depression diagnosed by a psychiatrist, but not in community studies, in which women subjectively identified themselves as being depressed using self-rating questionnaires.

The researchers concluded that all individuals psychiatrically diagnosed with major depression are at risk for developing osteoporosis, with depressed young women showing the highest risk. These patients should be periodically evaluated for progression of bone loss and signs of osteoporosis, allowing the use of anti-osteoporotic prophylactic and therapeutic treatments.
References:
1. Raz Yirmiya, et al. Major Depression Is a Risk Factor for Low Bone Mineral Density: A Meta-Analysis. Biological Psychiatry. Volume 66, Issue 5, 1 September 2009, Pages 423-432. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.03.016.

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