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Associations between depression and cardiometabolic health: A 27-year longitudinal study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2021

Hillary L. Ditmars*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Mark W. Logue
Affiliation:
Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA Biomedical Genetics Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Rosemary Toomey
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Ruth E. McKenzie
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA School of Education and Social Policy, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, USA
Carol E. Franz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Matthew S. Panizzon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Chandra A. Reynolds
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
Kristy N. Cuthbert
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Richard Vandiver
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Daniel E. Gustavson
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Graham M. L. Eglit
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
Jeremy A. Elman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Mark Sanderson-Cimino
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
McKenna E. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
Ole A. Andreassen
Affiliation:
NORMENT, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Anders M. Dale
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Lisa T. Eyler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Christine Fennema-Notestine
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Nathan A. Gillespie
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Richard L. Hauger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
Amy J. Jak
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
Michael C. Neale
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Xin M. Tu
Affiliation:
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
Nathan Whitsel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Hong Xian
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Saint Louis University College for Public Health & Social Justice, Saint Louis, MO, USA
William S. Kremen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
Michael J. Lyons
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Hillary L. Ditmars, E-mail: hditmars@bu.edu

Abstract

Background

Clarifying the relationship between depression symptoms and cardiometabolic and related health could clarify risk factors and treatment targets. The objective of this study was to assess whether depression symptoms in midlife are associated with the subsequent onset of cardiometabolic health problems.

Methods

The study sample comprised 787 male twin veterans with polygenic risk score data who participated in the Harvard Twin Study of Substance Abuse (‘baseline’) and the longitudinal Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (‘follow-up’). Depression symptoms were assessed at baseline [mean age 41.42 years (s.d. = 2.34)] using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III, Revised. The onset of eight cardiometabolic conditions (atrial fibrillation, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, myocardial infarction, sleep apnea, and stroke) was assessed via self-reported doctor diagnosis at follow-up [mean age 67.59 years (s.d. = 2.41)].

Results

Total depression symptoms were longitudinally associated with incident diabetes (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.07–1.57), erectile dysfunction (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.10–1.59), hypercholesterolemia (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04–1.53), and sleep apnea (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.13–1.74) over 27 years after controlling for age, alcohol consumption, smoking, body mass index, C-reactive protein, and polygenic risk for specific health conditions. In sensitivity analyses that excluded somatic depression symptoms, only the association with sleep apnea remained significant (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.09–1.60).

Conclusions

A history of depression symptoms by early midlife is associated with an elevated risk for subsequent development of several self-reported health conditions. When isolated, non-somatic depression symptoms are associated with incident self-reported sleep apnea. Depression symptom history may be a predictor or marker of cardiometabolic risk over decades.

Information

Type
Original Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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