To better treat and prevent depression, we need to understand more about the brain and body in which it occurs.
Strangely enough, a handful of studies have identified links Despite the influence between depression symptoms and body temperature, the small sample size leaves too much room for doubt.
In a recent study published in February, researchers led by a team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) analyzed data from 20,880 people collected over a seven-month period and found that patients with depression had lower body temperatures. It was confirmed that there is a high trend.
Although the study, which included participants from 106 countries, is thorough, it is not sufficient to show that increased body temperature causes depression or that depression actually makes the body warmer.
However, it does suggest that there is a connection here that is worth exploring. If something as simple as staying cool can help you deal with symptoms of depression, it could help millions of people around the world.
“To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date investigating the association between body temperature, assessed using both self-report methods and wearable sensors, and depressive symptoms in a geographically wide sample. is.” said UCSF psychiatrist Ashley Mason when the results were announced.
Researchers believe there may be a variety of reasons for this association. Perhaps depression is related to metabolic processes that generate excess heat, or to cooling biological functions that are not functioning properly.
Or there may be common causes such as: mental stress or inflammation that affects both body temperature and depressive symptoms separately.
That could be investigated in future studies. We now know that depression is a complex and multifaceted condition, likely to have a variety of triggers, and that body temperature may play a role.
What we know from previous research is that hot yoga, hot tub and sauna Even in a small sample group, symptoms of depression can be reduced. It is caused by self-cooling through sweating, and may also have psychological effects.
“Ironically, actually warming a person can cause rebound hypothermia to last longer than directly cooling the person, such as with an ice bath.” said Masonry.
“What if we could track the body temperature of depressed patients and time their heat therapy appropriately?”
According to the study data, as self-reported depression symptoms became more severe, average body temperature also increased. There was also some association between higher depression scores and lower daily temperature variation, but not at a statistically significant level.
around and 5% of people With people around the world believed to be living with depression, the need to understand and effectively treat depression has never been more urgent. Each new discovery brings further hope in tackling the problem.
“Given the rising incidence of depression in the United States, we are excited about the possibility of new treatments.” said Masonry.
This study scientific report.
A previous version of this article was published in February 2024.
