Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Introduction/Background
Depression is recognized as a risk factor for worse outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease, but there is limited research on whether individuals with depression have an increased incidence of future cardiovascular disease.
Research Questions/Hypothesis
Do individuals with depression have an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease?
Goals/Aims
This study was conducted to evaluate the association between a diagnosis of depression and the risk of developing future cardiovascular events, to determine whether the treatment of depression should be considered as a primary form of cardiovascular disease prevention.
Methods/Approach
We conducted a prospective analysis using the “All Of Us” Research Program dataset. Participants who responded to the historical depression status in the “Personal/Family History Survey” and with linked electronic health records data were considered eligible for this study. We used Cox regression models to calculate the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, heart failure (HF), and atrial fibrillation (AF) and the hazard ratio (HR) of a diagnosis of depression. Models were adjusted for sex, race, age, and prevalent hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and smoking. The survival analysis of the four outcomes was conducted in parallel. We conducted sensitivity analysis by excluding participants with documentation of prior MI, stroke, HF, and/or AF.
Results/Data
100,030 participants were included in this study, with a mean age of 53.2 (standard deviation of 16.5). 68.4% of participants were female, 10% were Hispanic, 9.6% were Black, and 37.1% had a diagnosis of depression. The median follow up time was 3 years. Compared to participants without depression, participants with depression were at risk of developing MI (aHR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.41), stroke (aHR 1.68, 95% CI 1.06–2.68), HF (aHR 1.28, 95% CI 1.15–1.43), and AF (aHR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02–1.27). In the sensitivity analysis, participants with depression were at risk of developing MI (aHR 1.22, 95% CI 1.03–1.44), stroke (aHR 1.68, 95% CI 1.06–2.68), and HF (aHR 1.31, 95% CI 1.15–1.48) but not AF (aHR 1.12, 95% CI 0.99–1.27).
Conclusions
This study indicates that patients with a diagnosis of depression were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, even if they had no known history of cardiovascular disease. Providers should include the treatment of depression as a part of a holistic approach to cardiovascular disease prevention.