Effects of depressive symptoms and coronary heart disease and their interactive associations on mortality in middle-aged adults: the Whitehall II cohort study

Heart. 2010 Oct;96(20):1645-50. doi: 10.1136/hrt.2010.198507. Epub 2010 Sep 15.

Abstract

Background: Depression and mortality have been studied separately in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and in populations healthy at study inception. This does not allow comparisons across risk-factor groups based on the cross-classification of depression and CHD status.

Objective: To examine effects of depressive symptoms and CHD and their interactive associations on mortality in middle-aged adults followed over 5.6years.

Design and setting: A prospective population-based cohort study of 5936 middle-aged men and women from the British Whitehall II study. We created four risk-factor groups based on the cross-classification of depressive symptoms and CHD status.

Results: The age-adjusted and sex-adjusted hazard ratios for death from all causes were 1.67 (p<0.05) for participants with only CHD, 2.10 (p<0.001) for those with only depressive symptoms and 4.99 (p<0.001) for those with both CHD and depressive symptoms when compared to participants without either condition. The two latter risk-factor groups remained at increased risk after adjustments for relevant confounders. The relative excess risk due to the interaction between depressive symptoms and CHD for all-cause mortality was 3.58 (95% CI -0.09 to 7.26), showing some evidence of an additive interaction. A similar pattern was also observed for cardiovascular death.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that depressive symptoms are associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death and that this risk is particularly marked in depressive participants with co-morbid CHD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Coronary Disease / etiology*
  • Coronary Disease / mortality
  • Depression / complications*
  • Depression / mortality
  • Epidemiologic Methods
  • Female
  • Humans
  • London / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Sex Distribution
  • Social Class