Living with multiple physical illnesses could more than double a person’s likelihood of a future depression diagnosis, a new study reveals.

In the study of 37 to 73-year-olds who had at least one chronic physical condition but no history of depression, people experiencing the highest rates of physical illness also showed the highest risk. of developing depression.

Published today in Nature Communications Medicine, the study funded by the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) found no single dominant illness is predictive of a higher risk.

Instead, the research revealed a ‘complex mix of issues’, where combinations of some physical conditions were linked with a greater likelihood of depression.

People with heart disease and diabetes were found to be among those at highest risk, as were people living with chronic lung conditions like asthma or COPD.

Those with liver and bowel conditions also saw a noticeable link to depression later in life.

Although women with joint and bone problems like arthritis were found to be particularly affected by depression, the pattern was not as prominent for men.

University of Edinburgh researchers looked at data from more than 142,000 people in the UK Biobank to investigate how physical illnesses interact to influence the risk of depression.

Using this data, researchers tracked participants over 10 years and found that people with physical conditions were more likely to develop depression than those without.

Lead author Lauren DeLong from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics said this study is “only the beginning”, adding:

“We hope our findings inspire other researchers to investigate and untangle the links between physical and mental health conditions.”

Among those experiencing the poorest physical health, around 1 in 12 of the study participants developed depression over the next decade, compared with just 1 in 25 people without physical conditions.

The researchers say that while the biological burden of illness may play a role in this difference, social and systemic factors could also help explain why physical multimorbidity leads to worse mental health outcomes.

It comes after the research team revealed that people with a history of depression are more likely to experience poorer physical health outcomes long-term.

Bruce Guthrie, Professor of General Practice at the University of Edinburgh’s Advanced Care Research Centre, said:

“Healthcare often treats physical and mental health as completely different things, but this study shows that we need to get better at anticipating and managing depression in people with physical illness.”

Meanwhile, NIHR’s Scientific Director of Innovation Professor Mike Lewis, said the study illustrates the “power of data” in healthcare:

“Harnessing the power of data to understand the impact of chronic conditions is going to transform the way we treat patients in the future.

“NIHR's research in this area is helping to paint a full picture of what patients are dealing with, rather than just focusing on one health condition at a time.”

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