A history of major depression raises the risk of heart disease over and above any genetic predisposition, U.S. researchers found, according to UPI. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis analyzed data from more than 1,200 male twins who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. The men were surveyed on a variety of health issues in 1992, including depression, and were assessed again in 2005. First author Jeffrey F. Scherrer of the Washington University School of Medicine and the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center said men with depression in 1992 were twice as likely to develop heart disease in the ensuing years, compared with men with no history of depression. "Based on our findings, we can say that after adjusting for other risk factors, depression remains a significant predictor of heart disease," Scherrer said in a statement.
