Depression

A new study by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers has shown a clear link between depression and a loss of bone mass, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.The study also showed that the relationship between depression and bone loss is particularly strong among young women. Hebrew University researchers Prof. Raz Yirmiya, head of the Brain and Behavior Laboratory, and Prof. Itai Bab, head of the Bone Laboratory, assembled the data from all studies on the subject conducted to date, and analyzed them using a special statistical approach called
meta-analysis.

They assessed data from 23 research projects conducted in eight countries, comparing bone density among 2,327 people suffering from depression against 21,141 non-depressed individuals.The results showed clearly that depressed individuals have a substantially lower bone density than non-depressed people and that depression is associated with a markedly elevated activity of cells that breakdown bone (osteoclasts).