There is a Link Between Depression and Body Temperature: What a Study Says

 

Link Between Depression and Body Temperature

A study led by the University of California, San Francisco has revealed an association between depression and higher body temperatures, raising the possibility of a new approach to treating this mental disorder.

Published in Scientific Reports, the study examined data from more than 20,000 international participants who wore body temperature measuring devices and also reported their depression symptoms daily.

The results showed that as the severity of depression symptoms increased, participants had higher body temperatures. However, it is still unclear whether depression raises body temperature or vice versa.

Ashley Mason, Ph.D., senior author of the study and associate professor of psychiatry at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, said these findings could open new avenues of treatment for depression.

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This raises the question of whether monitoring the body temperature of people with depression could be useful for scheduling heat-based treatments.

Although previous studies have suggested a correlation between altered body temperature and depression, this study is the largest to date to examine this association in a geographically wide sample. The results suggest that alterations in body temperature may be a relevant factor in the etiology of depression and could influence the development of new therapeutic approaches.

Treatments for Depression

The researchers also found that smaller differences between daytime and nighttime body temperature, as well as lower variability in daytime body temperature, were associated with greater severity of depression symptoms.

These findings could provide more clues about the underlying mechanisms of depression and how to address it from a therapeutic perspective.

In addition, it has been observed that treatments such as the use of hot tubs or saunas can have positive effects on depression by helping the body to cool down. This suggests that regulating body temperature could be a promising approach for treating depression.

The study highlights the importance of understanding the connection between body temperature and mental health, especially at a time when depression rates are on the rise in the United States and around the world. More research is needed to explore how this information can be used to develop more effective interventions for depression.

Substance abuse is an important factor to consider in the context of depression and the treatment of mental disorders. People suffering from depression often turn to substance abuse as a form of self-medication, which can further complicate their physical and mental health.

The connection between body temperature and depression highlights the need to address substance abuse as an integral part of depression treatment. Integrated treatment programs that address both depression and substance abuse may be more effective in helping people recover and maintain optimal mental and physical health.