Abstract 17751: Depressive Symptoms are Associated with Arterial Stiffness in Men

Abstract

Background: Depression has been linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and multiple mechanisms are likely implicated. Although depression was previously associated with endothelial dysfunction, limited data are available on whether it also influences arterial stiffening.

Methods: We administered the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) to 595 community participants without a previous history of CVD (mean age 51±9 years, 62% female) enrolled in the Morehouse-Emory Partnership to Eliminate Cardiovascular Health Disparities (META-Health) study. BDI-II scores of ≥14 indicated presence of depressive symptoms. Central augmentation index (CAIx), a composite measure of arterial wave reflections and stiffness, and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were estimated using applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor, AtCor Medical).

Results: Participants with depressive symptoms had higher CAIx (adjusted for heart rate) compared to those without depressive symptoms (49.1±11.1 vs. 46.8±11.2%, p=0.02). There was no difference in PWV between the groups. After adjusting for age, race, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, mean arterial pressure, glucose, and lipid profile, the total BDI-II score remained a significant predictor of higher CAIx in men (β=0.172, p=0.002), but not women (β=0.006, p=0.9). The p-value for gender X BDI-II score interaction was not significant (p=0.1).

Conclusions: Depressive symptoms are associated with increased arterial wave reflections in men. Further research is needed to define this association, and what the role of gender-based differences might be.