@article{ref1,
title="Associations between depression and all-cause and cause-specific risk of death: a retrospective cohort study in the Veterans Health Administration",
journal="Journal of psychosomatic research",
year="2015",
author="Zivin, Kara and Yosef, Matheos and Miller, Erin M. and Valenstein, Marcia and Duffy, Sonia and Kales, Helen C. and Vijan, Sandeep and Kim, H. Myra",
volume="78",
number="4",
pages="324-331",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Depression may be associated with increased mortality risk, but there are substantial limitations to existing studies assessing this relationship. We sought to overcome limitations of existing studies by conducting a large, national, longitudinal study to assess the impact of depression on all-cause and cause-specific risk of death. <br><br>METHODS: We used Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios associated with baseline depression diagnosis (N=849,474) and three-year mortality among 5,078,082 patients treated in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) settings in fiscal year (FY) 2006. Cause of death was obtained from the National Death Index (NDI). <br><br>RESULTS: Baseline depression was associated with 17% greater hazard of all-cause three-year mortality (95% CI hazard ratio [HR]: 1.15, 1.18) after adjusting for baseline patient demographic and clinical characteristics and VHA facility characteristics. Depression was associated with a higher hazard of three-year mortality from heart disease, respiratory illness, cerebrovascular disease, accidents, diabetes, nephritis, influenza, Alzheimer's disease, septicemia, suicide, Parkinson's disease, and hypertension. Depression was associated with a lower hazard of death from malignant neoplasm and liver disease. Depression was not associated with mortality due to assault. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: In addition to being associated with suicide and injury-related causes of death, depression is associated with increased risk of death from nearly all major medical causes, independent of multiple major risk factors. <br><br>FINDINGS highlight the need to better understand and prevent mortality seen with multiple medical disorders associated with depression.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-3999",
doi="10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.01.014",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.01.014"
}