Depression has been proposed to be treated by changing body temperature
Researchers at the University of California have discovered a link between symptoms of depressive disorder and elevated body temperature. The discovery could diversify drug antidepressant therapy with saunas and hot tubs.
The prevalence of major depressive disorder has increased over the past few generations in countries around the world. Between 2013 and 2016 alone, its rate increased by 33%, with the largest increase among young people. As a consequence, the trend of resorting to antidepressants has gained momentum, and the pharmacologic drugs available today have significant limitations in effectiveness.
The problem hits demographics (people don't want to start families), GDP (no desire to work), frequency and quality of scientific discoveries (lack of ambition, motivation and goals), and criminality (mental health and suicide crimes are on the rise). Collectively, all these patterns require the identification and implementation of new methods of treatment of depression.
Specialists from the University of California at San Francisco (USA) have addressed this issue and conducted a study, the results of which are published in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists analyzed data from 21,064 participants from 106 countries who wore thermometers, in parallel reported subjective feelings of their own body temperature and shared information about symptoms of depression. The average age was 46 years, 56% of the volunteers were male and 44% were female.
In summary, high self-reported body temperatures, as assessed by wearable sensors during waking hours, were found to be associated with greater severity of depression symptoms. The researchers also noticed a trend toward higher rates of depression in people whose temperatures fluctuated less throughout the day, but this result lacked statistical significance.
According to the team, the results obtained in a large sample replicate and extend previous findings pointing to changes in body temperature as potentially important factors in the etiology of depression. Thus, hot tubs or saunas could conceivably mediate depression by causing the body to self-cool through sweating.
"The funny thing is that heating people up can actually cause a reverse drop in body temperature that lasts longer than directly just cooling down with the same ice bath," said Ashley Mason, lead author of the study.
How true these judgments are, it's too early to judge. But what we do know is that sauna use is not unhealthy - relaxing muscles and allowing stagnant lymph to drain away can have a beneficial effect on the nervous system.