On Dec. 5, 2025, researchers Dr Sonia Shah and Dr Clara Jiang from the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience IMB) reported results from a study that found women who had a high genetic risk of developing depression also had a high risk of developing heart disease, even in the absence of a depression diagnosis.

The researchers analysed genetic and health data from more than 300,000 people. During the study, researchers developed genetic predictors of psychiatric disorders using data from large-scale genetic studies including the psychiatric genomics consortium, genetic health and biopharmaceutical company 23andMe, and UK BioBank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million consenting UK participants.

Dr Jiang said that despite heart disease being the leading cause of death for women globally, they have historically been underrepresented in cardiovascular research and clinical trials. “This has led to a bias towards men in our knowledge and approach to cardiovascular health, and as a result, women are going under-diagnosed and under-treated,” Dr Jiang said. The study highlighted that women who have depression should be assessed for heart disease risk regardless of their menopausal stage.

The research was published in Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.