A healthy lifestyle that involves moderate alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, regular physical activity, healthy sleep and frequent social connection, while avoiding smoking and excessively sedentary behavior, reduces the risk of depression, according to a new study. investigation.
In research published in Nature Mental Health , an international team of researchers, including those from the University of Cambridge and Fudan University, looked at a combination of factors including lifestyle factors, genetics, brain structure, and our immune and immune systems. metabolism to identify the underlying mechanisms. That could explain this link.
Summary Lifestyle factors have been recognized as modifiable targets that can be used to counteract the increasing prevalence of depression. This study aims to investigate the combination of a wide range of lifestyle factors, including alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, sleep, smoking, sedentary behavior and social connectedness, that contribute to depression, and examine the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Over nine years of follow-up, a multivariate Cox model was used in 287,282 UK Biobank participants to demonstrate the protective roles of seven lifestyle factors and the combined lifestyle score on depression. Combining genetic risk and lifestyle category in 197,344 participants, we found that a healthy lifestyle decreased the risk of depression in a population with varying genetic risk. Mendelian randomization confirmed the causal relationship between lifestyle and depression. A wide range of brain regions and peripheral biomarkers were related to lifestyle, including the pallidum, precentral cortex, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein. Structural equation modeling in 18,244 participants revealed underlying neurobiological mechanisms involving lifestyle, brain structure, immunometabolic function, genetics, and depression. Taken together, our findings suggest that adherence to a healthy lifestyle could help in preventing depression. 244 participants revealed underlying neurobiological mechanisms involving lifestyle, brain structure, immunometabolic function, genetics, and depression. |
Comments
According to the World Health Organization, around one in 20 adults suffer from depression, and the condition places a significant burden on public health around the world. The factors that influence the onset of depression are complicated and include a combination of biological and lifestyle factors.
To better understand the relationship between these factors and depression, researchers turned to the UK Biobank, a biomedical database and research resource containing anonymized genetic, lifestyle and health information on its participants.
By examining data from nearly 290,000 people (of whom 13,000 had depression) followed over a nine-year period, the team was able to identify seven healthy lifestyle factors linked to a lower risk of depression. These were:
- moderate alcohol consumption
- healthy diet
- regular physical activity
- healthy sleep
- never smoke
- low to moderate sedentary behavior
- frequent social connection
Of all these factors, getting enough sleep (seven to nine hours a night) made the biggest difference, reducing the risk of depression, including single depressive episodes and treatment-resistant depression, by 22 percent.
Frequent social connection , which overall reduced the risk of depression by 18%, was most protective against recurrent depressive disorder.
Moderate alcohol consumption decreased the risk of depression by 11%, a healthy diet by 6%, regular physical activity by 14%, never smoking by 20%, and low to moderate sedentary behavior by 13%.
Based on the number of healthy lifestyle factors an individual followed, they were assigned to one of three groups: unfavorable, intermediate, and favorable lifestyle. Individuals in the intermediate group were about 41% less likely to develop depression compared to those with an unfavorable lifestyle, while those in the favorable lifestyle group were 57% less likely.
The team then examined the participants’ DNA and assigned each a genetic risk score. This score was based on the number of genetic variants an individual carries that have a known link to depression risk. Those with the lowest genetic risk score were 25 percent less likely to develop depression compared to those with the highest score, a much smaller impact than lifestyle.
In people at high, medium and low genetic risk for depression, the team also found that a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of depression. This research underscores the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle to prevent depression, regardless of a person’s genetic risk.
Professor Barbara Sahakian, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, said: "Although our DNA (the genetic hand we have been dealt) may increase our risk of depression, we have shown that a healthy lifestyle is potentially more important.
"Some of these lifestyle factors are things we have some control over, so trying to find ways to improve them (making sure we get a good night’s sleep and going out to see friends, for example) could make a real difference for people’s lives."
To understand why a healthy lifestyle might reduce the risk of depression, the team studied other factors.
First, they examined MRI brain scans of just under 33,000 participants and found a number of brain regions where greater volume (more neurons and connections) was linked to a healthy lifestyle. These included the pallidum, thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus .
Next, the team looked for markers in the blood that indicated problems with the immune system or metabolism (how we process food and produce energy). Among the markers that were found to be related to lifestyle were C-reactive protein , a molecule produced in the body in response to stress, and triglycerides, one of the main forms of fat that the body uses to store energy for more. forward.
These links are supported by a number of previous studies. For example, exposure to stress in life can impair our ability to regulate blood sugar, which can lead to impaired immune function and accelerate age-related damage to the body’s cells and molecules. Poor physical activity and lack of sleep can harm the body’s ability to respond to stress. Loneliness and lack of social support have been found to increase the risk of infection and increase markers of immunodeficiency.
The team found that the pathway from lifestyle to immune and metabolic functions was the most important. In other words, a poorer lifestyle affects our immune system and metabolism, which in turn increases our risk of depression.
Dr Christelle Langley, also from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, said: "We are used to thinking that a healthy lifestyle is important for our physical health, but it is equally important for our mental health. It is good for our brain health and cognition, but also indirectly promoting a healthier immune system and better metabolism."
Professor Jianfeng Feng, from Fudan University and the University of Warwick, added: "We know that depression can begin as early as adolescence or early adulthood, so educating young people about the importance of a healthy lifestyle “Healthy living and its impact on mental health must begin in schools.”
This study was supported by grants from organizations such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science of China.
