Can Treating Depression Mitigate CVD Risk?

Researchers analyzed health insurance claims from more than 4 million Japanese patients filed between 2005 and 2022.
Participants were 18-75 (median age, 44) without a history of CVD or stroke, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation.
Investigators followed participants for a mean period of 2.5-3.5 years to observe the number of CVD events in those who had a diagnosis of depression.
During the follow-up period, there were 119,000 CVD events in men (14 per 10,000 person-years) and 61,800 CVD events in women (111 per 10,000 person-years).

Compared with women without depression, those with depression had a 64% higher risk for CVD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.64), while men with depression had a 39% higher risk for CVD vs their counterparts without depression (HR, 1.39; P < .001).
This association was significant even after controlling for various factors such as body mass index, diabetes, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity.
Investigators offered several theories about the increased risk for CVD in women with depression, including how depression during hormonal shifts can contribute to a greater impact on cardiovascular health.

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