TORONTO -- A significant number of patients are reporting symptoms of depression that worsened throughout the pandemic, placing them at higher risk for heart disease, a new study has found.

Conducted by researchers at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, the study involved 4,633 patients who completed depression screenings both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 40 per cent of patients said they experienced new or continuing symptoms of depression throughout the first year of the pandemic.

“These findings are significant,” said Heidi T. May, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute and principal investigator of the study, in a press release. “In looking at the first year of the pandemic, we are already seeing the mental health effects on our patients.”

Patients were separated into two groups: those without depression or who were no longer depressed, and those who became or remained depressed. Researchers discovered that among the depressed patients, screening scores for depression were higher during the pandemic than they were before it. Pre-pandemic scores were recorded between March 1, 2019 and Feb. 29, 2020, while screenings performed during the pandemic took place from March 1, 2020 to April 20, 2021.

Findings from the study were shared at the American Heart Association’s virtual scientific session on Saturday.

Not only does this study point to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, but on physical well-being too.

Researchers discovered that depression was linked to increased visits to the emergency room for anxiety treatment. Patients with depression were 2.8 times more likely to visit the ER for anxiety compared to patients without depression. The chances of visiting the ER for anxiety while experiencing chest pains were 1.8 times higher in patients with depression compared to patients without it.

Scientific evidence shows a strong link between depression and heart disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patients experiencing depression, anxiety and stress over long periods of time are likely to experience an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, reduced blood flow to the heart, and higher levels of cortisol. Eventually, these physiological effects can result in a buildup of calcium in the arteries and lead to heart disease.

A recent study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry discovered that people who suffered from four or more depressive symptoms were 20 per cent more likely to experience cardiovascular disease or death. The global study involved more than 140,000 middle-aged participants across 21 countries. Heart disease is considered a leading cause of death in men and women in Canada.

“We know that [depression] is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease; and if people are becoming more depressed because of the pandemic, in a few years, we could see a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease,” May said in the press release.

Not only does she point to this as a concern, but she says it indicates the urgency of screening patients early on and supplying them with the tools they need.

“Clinicians should be acutely aware of their patients’ mental health so that it can be addressed and treated immediately to improve the overall quality of their lives, and hopefully avoid the development of subsequent health problems in the future,” May said in the press release. “This is vital because the pandemic is still not over.”

She also says that more time is necessary to determine the potential long-term effects of the pandemic on mental health.