Jewish & World News

A blood test may be able to diagnose depression, according to a new study. The study finds the test, developed at Mass General Hospital, analyzed the levels of nine biomarkers that distinguished patients with major depression from those who did not.

Think the link between depression and work exists only in those who are unhappy with their jobs? Think again. A new study finds that working long hours - regardless of job stress or satisfaction - increases a person's risk for depression. For the study, researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and University College London followed nearly 2,000 middle aged British civil servants for almost six years. The researchers examined the civil servants' working hours, whether or not they were depressed or had risk factors for depression to begin with, and whether they had any major depressive episodes over time.

Feeling blue? It may be time to check your vitamin D levels. New research suggests that low levels of vitamin D and depression may go hand in hand. The new study included about 12,600 people aged 20 to 90. Researchers measured the vitamin D in their blood and assessed symptoms of depression. People with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more likely to report symptoms of depression, compared to people with higher blood levels of vitamin D. This relationship was strongest among people with a history of depression.

Israeli researchers have developed software that claims to identify depressed bloggers by analyzing their writing. The program scours blogs for words and phrases, descriptions and metaphors that can indicate the writer's psychological state.

Fighting depression is a tough battle for many people, in part because medications don't always work. There is hope on the horizon for sufferers, however, as a new drug free treatment is helping people find happiness again.

People who are dependent on nicotine are more than twice as likely to have symptoms of depression, according to a New Zealand study of more than 1,000 people published Wednesday.