HUMAN CONNECTIONS LOWER DEPRESSION RISK

Study of 100,000 finds less napping and more chatting is beneficial for our mental health.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a set of modifiable factors that could help to prevent depression in adults. In a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, the team name social connection as the strongest protective factor for depression, and say reducing sedentary activities like watching TV and daytime napping could also help lower depression risk. “Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, but until now researchers have focused on only a handful of risk and protective factors, “says Dr Karmel Choi, from the Department of Psychiatry and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Our study provides the most comprehensive picture to date of modifiable factors that could impact depression risk.” The researchers drew on a database of over 100,000 participants in the UK Biobank to investigate a wide range of factors that might be associated with the risk of developing depression, including social interaction, media use, sleep patterns, diet, physical activity, and environmental exposures. “Far and away the most prominent of these factors was frequency of confiding in others, but also visits with family and friends – all of which highlighted the important protective effect of social connection and cohesion,” says Dr Jordan Smoller, associate chief for research in the MGH Department of Psychiatry. “These factors are more relevant now than ever at a time of social distancing and separation from friends and family.”