Research round-up

Participants were placed into low, medium and high cardiac risk groups on the basis of factors such as their cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes status and smoking habits. Heartdisease risk and depressed mood, the researchers state, might be linked because some of the same physical processes that cause heart disease, such as inflammation, blood vessel deterioration and reduced insulin sensitivity, are also thought to contribute to the onset of depression. PLoS ONE 17, e0265079 (2022) Inflammation tied to genetic depression People who have genes that increase their risk of depression also tend to have higher counts of white blood cells, indicating some level of inflammation in the body. Members of the genetic high-risk group turned out to have higher levels of white blood cells overall, as well as high levels of specific immune cells, such as monocytes and neutrophils.