A new study suggests that biological aging, measured through blood markers, could be linked to symptoms of depression, offering a potential new way to identify the disorder through objective testing rather than relying solely on self-reported symptoms.
Researchers published their findings in The Journals of Gerontology. The study focused on a group of women, including 261 with HIV and 179 without, who were part of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study. Depression is more common among people with autoimmune conditions, which led researchers to include women with HIV, a common secondary immunodeficiency disease.
The researchers measured depression levels using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, or CES-D. Blood tests were also taken to assess the biological aging of white blood cells. The analysis focused on monocytes, a type of white blood cell that plays a large role in HIV infection and is often elevated in people with depression.
The results showed that the aging of monocytes was a biomarker for non-somatic depression symptoms, such as hopelessness, loss of joy, and feelings of failure. This finding held true for women both with and without HIV.
Study co-author Nicole Beaulieu Perez, Ph.D., explained in a news release that people with HIV often have physical symptoms like fatigue that are attributed to their chronic illness rather than depression. “But this flips that on its head because we found that these measures are associated with mood and cognitive symptoms, not somatic symptoms,” she said.
Identifying a biological marker for mood disorders is significant because depression is almost always diagnosed based on self-reported symptoms. Beaulieu Perez noted that depression is not a one-size-fits-all disorder and can look different from person to person. “Our study reveals unique biological underpinnings of mental health that are often obscured by broad diagnostic categories,” she added.
The study authors said more research is needed to fully understand the connection between biological aging and mood disorders. However, the findings point to possible future pathways for diagnosis and treatment. Beaulieu Perez referenced the adage, “What gets measured gets managed,” and said an aspirational goal in mental health would be to combine subjective experience with objective biological testing.
The researchers hope this work brings the field closer to precision mental health care, especially for high-risk populations, by providing a biological framework that could guide future diagnosis and treatment. The study was published online and is available from the journal’s website.
