Cardiovascular disease, energy dysregulation, and the role of depression and the social cure.

Objetivo

Depression affects over 300 million people world-wide and is the single largest contributor to global disability, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Research has highlighted that individuals with depression have a two-to-four fold increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Notably, CVDs are the most common cause of death globally and are a huge economic burden to society. For example, in 2015 alone CVDs cost the EU over €210 billion (WHO). However, the mechanisms linking depression with increased risk of CVD are poorly understood, posing a challenge to the development of appropriate interventions to reduce this risk.

CEDAR aims to elucidate the potential biological mechanisms linking depression with increased risk of CVD by adopting state-of-the-art techniques from exercise physiology and clinical psychology. Specifically, this interdisciplinary and timely project will be the first to examine the relationship between depression and energy dysregulation during stress, and will consider the role of gender and depression severity. CEDAR will also test an intervention for reducing the risk of CVD in individuals with depression. Applying knowledge from the social identity approach to health, a social cure intervention will be employed to examine if this has an influence on (i) physiological responses to stress, and (ii) if this influences stress responsivity in individuals with depression. The results of this project will not only elucidate the relationship between depression and CVD risk, but the advanced research skills learnt during this fellowship can be applied to future projects examining the link between stress responsivity and pathogenic disease risk; advancing methods in stress physiology research. The experiences garnered by this fellowship, including targeted training in communication, leadership, and project management skills, are key in developing the professional maturity and employability of the applicant.