Psychological distress, even at relatively low levels, is linked to an increased risk of death, a large new study shows.

Distress is a measure of psychological health that takes into account symptoms of anxiety or depression.

The study found that people frayed by even slight distress, meaning they sometimes stayed awake at night worrying or had trouble concentrating on tasks, for example, were about 20% more likely to die over a 10-year period compared to people who reported no such symptoms.

That was true even after researchers adjusted their results to account for unhealthy behaviors that often accompany anxiety and depression, like smoking and excessive drinking. They also accounted for things like exercise, weight, and diabetes.

The study can’t prove that being anxious or depressed leads directly to a person’s death. Other studies looking into the connection have been unable to discover which comes first: Does a person get sick because they’re depressed? Or do people get depressed because they’re sick?

In this study, though, researchers discounted all early deaths — those that happened in the first five years of the study. That makes it less likely that illness caused people to become worried and depressed.

‘It is a very impressive study,’ says Glyn Lewis, PhD, […]