Recent studies had found "that some genes that increase the risk of heart disease also may make people more prone to depression, which has raised the question of whether the depression-heart disease link is genetic."

But this study, to be presented at a medical association's meeting on Wednesday, "teases out the influence of genetics and finds that depression takes a huge toll on the heart that can't be chalked up to a roll of the genetic dice."

For the study, researchers followed more than 600 sets of male twins from their early 40s to their mid-50s. Jeanne McCaffery, a psychologist at Brown University Medical School, said the study "tells us you can't explain away the role of depression in heart disease by saying it's all due to genetics."

Still, François Lesperance, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Montreal, noted that "there's no evidence yet that treating depression will make adults less likely to have heart attacks."

Related Links:

- "Depression can break the heart," Marilyn Elias, USA Today, March 4, 2009.