A recent study conducted by researchers at UC San Francisco suggests a potential link between depression and elevated body temperatures. Published in Scientific Reports, the research indicates that individuals with depression tend to have higher body temperatures. However, it remains unclear whether depression causes increased body temperature or vice versa. The study also highlights the need for further investigation into whether the observed higher body temperature in depressed individuals is due to reduced ability to self-cool, increased heat generation from metabolic processes, or a combination of both factors.
The study analyzed data from over 20,000 participants across 106 countries who wore a device to measure body temperature and reported their depression symptoms daily. Over a seven-month period starting in early 2020, researchers observed a correlation between higher levels of depression symptom severity and elevated body temperatures. Additionally, there was a trend suggesting that individuals with less fluctuation in body temperature throughout the day may have higher depression scores, though this finding did not reach statistical significance.
These findings offer insight into potential novel approaches for treating depression. Ashley Mason, PhD, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of psychiatry at UCS Weill Institute for Neurosciences, suggests that treatments involving raising body temperature, such as hot tubs or saunas, may have therapeutic benefits for depression by stimulating the body to self-cool through mechanisms like sweating.
“Ironically, heating people up actually can lead to rebound body temperature lowering that lasts longer than simply cooling people down directly, as through an ice bath," said Mason, who is also a clinical psychologist at the Us- Osher Center for Integrative Health. Mason also proposed the idea of tracking the body temperature of individuals with depression to optimise the timing of heat-based treatments.
"To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date to examine the association between body temperature - assessed using both self-report methods and wearable sensors - and depressive symptoms in a geographically broad sample. Given the climbing rates of depression in the United States, we're excited by the possibilities of a new avenue for treatment," added Mason.
(with ANI inputs)
