Depression May Slow Wound Healing

NEW YORK Apr 19 (Reuters Health) - Wounds may take longer to heal in people who are depressed or anxious, UK researchers report.

In a study of 53 adults being treated for leg wounds, delayed wound healing was four times as common in patients who scored in the top 50% of an anxiety and depression scale than patients in the bottom 50%, researchers report in a recent issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The study found that 15 out of 16 patients diagnosed with anxiety experienced delayed wound healing, while wounds were slow to heal in all 13 patients who had depression.

``These results show that there is a statistically significant relationship between psychological factors and wound healing,"" writes a team of researchers led by Dr. Alys Cole-King, of the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff.

Psychological factors could have direct and indirect effects on the rate of wound healing, according to the researchers. Depression and other psychological problems have been shown to affect the immune system, which may keep a wound from healing on time, they note.

Another possibility, according to Cole-King"s team, is that depressed people may not take care of themselves as well as nondepressed people. Poor appetite and an irregular sleep schedule, which often accompany depression, may also interfere with the normal workings of the immune system, the authors note.

The study is not the first to show a connection between psychological factors and wound healing. The researchers point out that previous studies have linked stress to delayed healing of wounds caused by biopsies.

But Cole-King and colleagues caution that the study is not the final word on whether or not psychological factors truly slow down wound healing.

``We suggest that further research be conducted to clarify the relationship between healing and clinically significant anxiety and depression,"" they conclude.

SOURCE:

• Psychosomatic Medicine 2001;63:216-220.