Depression symptoms are tied to increased CVD risk

Takeaway

• Depressive symptoms, especially loneliness and restless sleep, are tied to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in middle-aged adults, with an overall 39.0% increased risk.

Why this matters

• Although the association of depression with CVD risk is an acknowledged issue among elderly people, this study found increased risk in a population with an average age of 58.40 years.

Key results

• Overall, depressive symptoms were linked to increased CVD risk:
  • Adjusted HR, 1.39 (95% CI, 1.22-1.58).
  • Incident CVD rate: 29.18/1000 person-years with depressive symptoms vs 20.55/1000 person-years without.
• 2 of 10 specific symptoms evaluated were tied to increased CVD risk:
  • Restless sleep: adjusted HR, 1.21 (95% CI, 1.06-1.39).
  • Loneliness: adjusted HR, 1.21 (95% CI, 1.02-1.44).
• Stroke and heart disease showed associations with the highest quintile of depressive symptoms.

Study design

• Data from prospective China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study for 12,417 Chinese adults with no known baseline CVD, followed from June 1, 2011 to June 31, 2015.
• Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Limitations

• Despite a lot of adjustment, confounding is still possible.
• Included only people living in China.