"Some of these lifestyle factors are things we have a degree control over, so trying to find ways to improve them - making sure we have a good night's sleep and getting out to see friends, for example - could make a real difference to people's lives." Professor Barbara Sahakian, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, said: "Although our DNA - the genetic hand we've been dealt - can increase our risk of depression, we've shown that a healthy lifestyle is potentially more important. This research underlines the importance of living a healthy lifestyle for preventing depression, regardless of a person's genetic risk. In people at high, medium, and low genetic risk for depression, the team further found that a healthy lifestyle can cut the risk of depression. Those with the lowest genetic risk score were 25% less likely to develop depression when compared to those with the highest score - a much smaller impact than lifestyle. This score was based on the number of genetic variants an individual carried that have a known link to risk of depression. The team then examined the DNA of the participants, assigning each a genetic risk score. Individuals in the intermediate group were around 41% less likely to develop depression compared to those in the unfavourable lifestyle, while those in the favourable lifestyle group were 57% less likely. Moderate alcohol consumption decreased the risk of depression by 11%, healthy diet by 6%, regular physical activity by 14%, never smoking by 20%, and low-to-moderate sedentary behaviour by 13%.īased on the number of healthy lifestyle factors an individual adhered to, they were assigned to one of three groups: unfavourable, intermediate, and favourable lifestyle. Of all of these factors, having a good night's sleep - between seven and nine hours a night - made the biggest difference, reducing the risk of depression, including single depressive episodes and treatment-resistant depression, by 22%.įrequent social connection, which in general reduced the risk of depression by 18%, was the most protective against recurrent depressive disorder. To better understand the relationship between these factors and depression, the researchers turned to the UK Biobank, a biomedical database and research resource containing anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information about its participants.īy examining data from almost 290,000 people - of whom 13,000 had depression - followed over a nine-year period, the team was able to identify seven healthy lifestyle factors linked with a lower risk of depression. The factors that influence the onset of depression are complicated and include a mixture of biological and lifestyle factors. In research published today in Nature Mental Health, an international team of researchers, including from the University of Cambridge and Fudan University, looked at a combination of factors including lifestyle factors, genetics, brain structure and our immune and metabolic systems to identify the underlying mechanisms that might explain this link.Īccording to the World Health Organization, around one in 20 adults experiences depression, and the condition poses a significant burden on public health worldwide.
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