Study uncovers how physical health influences mental health through brain pathways
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Multiple biological pathways involving organs and the brain play a key part in physical and mental health, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Mental Health.
It is analyzed that out of 18,000 individuals, 7,749 people had no major clinically diagnosed medical or mental health conditions, while 10,334 had reported a diagnosis of either schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety. Using advanced statistical models, the researchers found a significant association between poorer organ health and higher depressive symptoms, and that the brain plays an important role in linking body health and depression.
The organ systems studied included the lungs, muscles and bones, kidneys, liver, heart, and the metabolic and immune systems.
By integrating clinical data, brain imaging, and a wide array of organ-specific biomarkers in a large population-based cohort, for the first time, it established multiple pathways involving the brain as a mediating factor through which poor physical health of body organ systems may lead to poor mental health.
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