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Researchers in California and the Netherlands during a joint study have unravelled that severe depression can speed up the ageing process in body cells. Laboratory analysis confirmed the existence of an association between major depressive disorders (MDD) and accelerated cellular aging.
The tests showed cells looked biologically older in people who were severely depressed or who had been in the past, according to the paper published in the journal Molecular Psychology.
The scientists examined the white blood cells of more than 2 400 Dutch study volunteers to observe the differences in a measure of cell ageing among them.
Over one third of the participants were currently depressed, a third had experienced major depression in the past and the rest had never been depressed.
Study revealed that people with major depression had diffrent forms of telomeres comparing to the healthy participants.
“Telomeres are strands of protective DNA that cap the tips of chromosomes within a cell. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres get a little bit shorter.”
“As cells divide, the telomeres get shorter and shorter. Measuring their length is a way of assessing cellular ageing.”
The study indicated that those people who experienced deep depression had much shorter telomeres than those ones who had never experienced depression.
“This large-scale study provides convincing evidence that depression is associated with several years of biological ageing, especially among those with the most severe and chronic symptoms,” said Josine Verhoeven from the VU University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.
The experts also suggest that people with severe depression are at the high risk of age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity and heart disease. – Presstv.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter