NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with depression, who also have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, or other risk factors for heart disease, may not respond to antidepressant drug therapy, according to research reported today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in San Francisco.

Among 187 adults hospitalized with depression, 43 (23%) failed to respond to antidepressant treatment and were treated with electroconvulsive therapy.

According to study presenter Dr. Dale D'Mello of Michigan State University in Lansing, and co-investigator Dr. Alric Hawkins of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, people who did not respond to antidepressant medication were far more likely than those that did respond to have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or to be obese.

The average number of cardiovascular risk factors was significantly higher among non-responders than among responders.

Roughly half of non-responders reported the presence of five cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Future studies, D'Mello said, "need to examine whether aggressive management of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and body weight improves the outcome of depression and other persistent psychiatric disorders."

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.