ArticleBMC medicine2018
The heart of the matter: in search of causal effects of depression on somatic diseases.
Article in BMC medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multidimensional Data-Driven Mechanistic Insights into Anle Tablets for Depression Treatment through Molecular Docking and Dynamics.Current pharmaceutical design · 2026Article
- Experience of depression in older adults with and without a physical long-term condition: findings from a qualitative interview study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Deciphering the Causal Relationships Between Low Back Pain Complications, Metabolic Factors, and Comorbidities.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Screening for depressive symptoms in cardiovascular patients at a tertiary centre in Trinidad and Tobago: investigation of correlates in the SAD CAT study.BMC psychiatry · 2020Observational
- Comorbid depression in medical diseases.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2020Review
- Assessment of the Level of Pain Intensity and the Level of Anxiety Treated as State and Trait in Patients with Osteoarthritis of the Limbs.Pain research & management · 2020Observational
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The question of whether depression is a causal factor in somatic diseases remains unanswered despite decades of research. In an extensive umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, Machado et al. (BMC Medicine 16:112, 2018) found significant associations between depression and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. However, as the authors clearly argued, these results do not prove causation. The next logical step is to study the potential effect of depression and other mental disorders by placing emphasis on temporality (associations over time) and specificity (unique associations) of associations between a comprehensive set of mental disorders and somatic diseases. A data-driven approach in large samples could uncover disease development trajectories to provide a route for researchers and clinicians to improve medical outcomes in vulnerable patient groups.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.