That heart ache or the sinking feeling felt during a bout of clinical depression may have far more implications than originally thought. Recent studies have confirmed a positive correlation between untreated clinical depression and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It has been proven already that depression increases the sufferer’s risk to acquiring cardiac disease but it wasn’t known till now that the leading lung disease COPD can result from depression too.

The reasons could be varied and significant. Depression leaves a patient’s immune system weak and prone to environmental triggers and the depressed may leave their conditions left untreated which could result in a far more serious form of the COPD.

Intake of the anti-depressants are also known to damage the immune system. Perhaps it would be advisable for the psychologists to suggest a pulmonary disease screening to their patients.

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Via: WebMD