Research has found that women with depression may be at an increased risk of stroke, according to BBC News.

The Nurses' Health Study, which has been following women in the USA for over thirty years, analysed the records of women between 2000 to 2006. None of the 80,000 women had a history of stroke but 22 per cent had been diagnosed as depressed.

However, during the course of the investigation, 1,033 women had a stroke. This equates to a 29 per cent increased risk for depressed women, those with senior practitioner jobs may be interested to learn.

The link may be due to inflammation, a vascular disease or some other mechanisms, according to research author, Dr An Pan, speaking in Medical News Today.

There there was also an implication that depressed women are more at risk due to being less motivated to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Additionally, it was suggested that the risk was higher still for those on anti-depressants. Although Dr Kathryn Rexode, who jointly lead the research was keen to point out that the medicines were probably not the cause of stroke, but an "indication someone was more seriously ill."

"Depression can prevent individuals from controlling other medical problems such as diabetes and hypertension," she said, "from taking medications regularly or pursuing healthy lifestyle measures such as exercise. All these factors could contribute to increased risk."

Commenting on the findings, the UK's Stroke Association said that further research was required before any links could be formally established.