A new study has suggested that depressed people could be at higher risk to develop Parkinson’s disease than the people who are not with depression. The study has been published online on Wednesday in Neurology.

According to researchers of the study, they analyzed that data of over 560,000 Swedish people and discovered that the depressed people developed the progressive disorder of the nervous system at a rate about three times higher than the people who were not depressed. The study suggested that the risks of developing Parkinson’s increase when depression is severe.

The researchers said that the findings have revealed that depression should be taken as a warning sign of Parkinson’s disease, which usually affects an individual’s movement. Last year, actor Robin Williams committed suicide after a long history of depression. According to reports, at the time of death, ‘The World According to Garp’ actor was in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. The new study has come less than the suicide of the actor which has linked depression to the disease.

Carol Schramke, a clinical psychologist at Allegheny General Hospital, said the new study has highlighted some previous known links between psychiatric and neurological disorders. Schramke was not part of the new study.

Ms. Schramke, the hospital’s director of behavioral neurology, said, “These are the kinds of things I tell the residents and medical students. When a patient has depression or symptoms of depression, there could be other brain-related problems — Parkinson’s perhaps but also Alzheimer’s, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis — involved”.

Audrey Daniels, who is a psychiatric nurse practitioner with Milestone Centers Inc., said the new findings are not surprising. She said that her father developed the disease when he was depressed. According to her, there are needs to treat both the disorders.