Share on PinterestA new study links different types of depression to a higher risk of certain health conditions. Francesca Russell/Stocksy
- Past studies show that depression can increase a person’s risk for several health conditions, including chronic pain and heart disease.
- A new study has found that different types of depression are correlated with an increased risk of different cardiometabolic diseases.
- Among these cardiometabolic conditions were type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 332 million people around the world live with depression.
Past studies show that depression can increase a person’s risk for several health concerns, including a weakened immune system, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, asthma, and certain cancers.
Previous research has also linked depression to an increased risk for developing cardiometabolic disorders such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
“Depression places a major burden on society and health care,” Yuri Milaneschi, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC) in the Netherlands, told Medical News Today. “The WHO predicts it will be the leading cause of disability by 2030. This is because depression’s impact goes beyond mental health — it can also influence the development and worsening of physical illnesses. We need to understand how depression affects overall health so we can improve prevention and treatment.”
Milaneschi is the co-lead author of a new study recently presented at the 2025 ECNP Congress that found different types of depression are correlated to an increased risk of different cardiometabolic diseases.
The findings have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Examining two depression profiles
For this study, researchers tracked more than 5,700 adults enrolled in the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity (NEO) Study for seven years. At the start of the study, none of the participants had diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
All NEO study participants were asked to complete a depression-related questionnaire that would help place them in one of two depression profiles:
- Atypical/Energy-Related — symptoms included fatigue, increased sleep, increased appetite, and weight gain.
- Melancholic — symptoms included decreased appetite, excessive guilt, weight loss, and having a bad mood in the morning.
“Depression often occurs alongside conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke, which are major causes of death in people with depression,” Milaneschi said. “We wanted to find out whether different types of depressive symptoms could predict the future development of these illnesses.”
Atypical depression linked to 2.7 times greater chance of diabetes
At this new study’s conclusion, Milaneschi and his team found that study participants with atypical/energy-related symptoms of depression were 2.7 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those without signs of depression.
“Depression has many faces and presents with very different symptoms across individuals,” Milaneschi explained. “People who showed this particular symptom profile at baseline — marked by fatigue, increased appetite, and more sleep — had nearly a threefold higher risk of developing diabetes over the next seven years.”
“However, they did not show a significant increase in cardiovascular disease,” he continued. “This suggests a degree of specificity in how certain forms of depression relate to particular cardiometabolic conditions.”
Additionally, researchers discovered that study participants who showed melancholic symptoms of depression had about 1.5 times greater chance of developing cardiovascular disease than individuals without depressive symptoms.
“This finding mirrors our earlier result but involves a different symptom profile,” Milaneschi said. “People with melancholic symptoms — like low appetite and insomnia, which are somewhat opposite to the previous group — had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but not diabetes. It reinforces the idea that different forms of depression are linked to specific physical health risks.”
How does depression increase cardiometabolic disease risk?
Milaneschi said that several factors may explain the impact of depression on the body, such as unhealthy lifestyle habits like inactivity, poor diet, smoking, and alcohol use, or certain medications.
“However, research shows that these factors don’t fully account for the connection between depression and cardiometabolic disease,” he continued.
“Our group is exploring the idea that depression and cardiometabolic disease may share underlying biological mechanisms, such as inflammation or metabolic alterations. These biological mechanisms could be promising targets for improving depression outcomes and breaking the vicious cycle connecting depression with physical illness.”
— Yuri Milaneschi, PhD
“This research was based on a population-based study, our next step is to confirm these findings in larger samples that include people with diagnosed depressive disorders,” he said.
“We then plan to explore the biological pathways linking depression and cardiometabolic diseases using advanced omics technologies. Ultimately, our goal is to test treatments targeted for such pathways, tailored to specific subgroups of depressed patients selected based on their clinical and biological profiles,” he added.
Depression as an entire body disorder
MNT had the opportunity to speak with Christopher Palmer, MD, director of the Metabolic and Mental Health Program at McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, about this study.
Palmer commented that as a doctor who not only treats depression, but also researches the intersection of metabolism and mental health, his first reaction to this study’s findings was genuine excitement.
“This study adds to a growing body of evidence showing that depression is not just a disorder of mood but one that involves the entire body, including metabolism. We’ve long known that depression, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease are interconnected, but this study goes a step further. It shows that different subtypes of depression — those characterized by increased appetite and fatigue versus those marked by insomnia and loss of appetite — carry distinct risks for metabolic diseases.”
— Christopher Palmer, MD
“In other words, the biology underlying depression appears to vary in meaningful ways that affect physical health, which aligns perfectly with the movement toward precision psychiatry and metabolic psychiatry,” he continued.
“Depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, and it’s also associated with premature mortality — much of it due to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases rather than suicide. Understanding how depression contributes to metabolic dysfunction — and vice versa — can help us prevent or better treat both conditions.”
Help is out there
If you or someone you know is in crisis and considering suicide or self-harm, please seek support:
- Call or text the 988 Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Caring counselors are available to listen and provide free and confidential support 24/7.
- Text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to connect with a volunteer crisis counselor for free and confidential support 24/7.
- Not in the United States? Find a helpline in your country with Befrienders Worldwide.
- Call 911 or your local emergency services number if you feel safe to do so.
If you’re calling on behalf of someone else, stay with them until help arrives. You may remove weapons or substances that can cause harm if you can do so safely.
If you’re not in the same household, stay on the phone with them until help arrives.
A close connection between mind and body
MNT also spoke with Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, about this research.
“This study found an association between different subtypes of depression and different cardiometabolic disorders. This is a fascinating result that highlights the close connection between ‘mind’ and ‘body,’ and suggests different biochemical underpinnings at work even within a single psychiatric diagnosis such as depression.”
— Cheng-Han Chen, MD
“We know that there is a close relationship between depression and cardiovascular disease, a relationship that runs both ways,” he continued. “About a quarter of people with cardiovascular disease experience depression, and many people with depression develop heart disease. Our ability to treat either condition will be greatly helped by a better understanding of the close connection between both diseases.”
“Future research can examine whether other psychiatric conditions besides depression are also associated with distinct biochemical ‘signatures’ that may predispose people to specific cardiometabolic disorders,” Chen added.
