Depression significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) development and the risk of acute events and mortality, especially in women. As a consequence, this comorbidity represents a social and economic issue affecting the patient’s life and causing healthcare costs to rise. The mechanisms and progression of the disease remain unknown. The EU-funded TO-AITION project works on the hypothesis that immune-metabolic dysregulation due to genetic, lifestyle and environmental risk factors affects immunity mechanisms leading to CVD-associated depression.
In total 900,000 Euros (out of a 5.9M) was awarded to APH researchers Jos Bosch, Femke Lamers, and Brenda Penninx, whereby funds were evenly split between the two participating institutes (department Psychology, University of Amsterdam and department Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC). This projects presents a model of within-APH collaboration that optimizes synergy between groups. The project will combine basic, preclinical and clinical research by applying data-driven strategies to detect and describe immune-metabolic mechanisms responsible for CVD-depression comorbidity, aiming to improve diagnosis and management of the disease.
Contact: Brenda Penninx: b.penninx@amsterdamumc.nl
