Scientists from Southern Medical University found in adults with normal kidney function, those who had frequent depressive symptoms were more likely to later experience a rapid decline in kidney function.
Depression is a common condition in middle-aged and older adults, and it can contribute to a variety of mental and physical problems.
Previous research has found a link between depressive symptoms and rapid kidney function decline in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
In the study, the team aimed to look for a potential link in adults with normal kidney function as well.
They examined information on 4,763 people with healthy kidneys when they enrolled in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.
At the start of the study, 39% of participants had high depressive symptoms, and during a median follow-up of 4 years, 260 (6%) participants experienced rapid kidney function decline.
The team found a strong association between depressive symptoms at the start of the study and rapid decline in kidney function during follow-up.
Participants with frequent depressive symptoms were 1.4-times more likely to experience rapid kidney function decline than participants with infrequent depressive symptoms.
CKD is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and mortality worldwide.
Therefore, the identification of more modifiable risk factors may possibly reduce the huge burden of CKD and its related complications by leading to early detection and prevention
This study demonstrated that high depressive symptoms were strongly linked to a rapid decline in kidney function among Chinese adults with normal kidney function.
If further confirmed, the data provide some evidence for depressive symptom screening and effective psychosocial interventions to improve the prevention of CKD.
If you care about depression, please read studies about 7 strange habits caused by depression, and Ketamine strongly reduces depression and suicide.
For more information about depression, please see recent studies about the key to depression recovery, and results showing this mindfulness therapy could benefit people with depression.
The research was published in CJASN and conducted by Xianhui Qin et al.
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