Having genes that put you at risk of depression could also make you susceptible to a variety of other health conditions, often seemingly unconnected. According to new research, this could include things like coronary heart disease and even bacterial infections. The new study assessed the genetic risk factors of major depressive disorder in relation with more than 900 other diseases; the research team found that having poor mental health isn’t always a consequence of serious illness – it can be directly responsible for it. “Data shows that people living with serious mental diseases, like depression, have much higher rates of physical illness than those in the general population,” says genetic epidemiologist Anwar Mulugeta from the University of South Australia. Suffering from severe depression while dealing with another major illness is maybe not all that surprising, but researchers have long wondered whether the root causes of depression might be somehow […]