Graded Association ID’d for Depressive Symptoms With Mortality Risk

TUESDAY, Oct. 17, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Depressive symptoms in adults are associated with mortality in a graded association, according to a study published online Oct. 9 in JAMA Network Open.

Zefeng Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study to examine the association between depressive symptoms and mortality in a large, nationally representative sample of 23,694 U.S. adults.

The prevalence of mild depression was 14.9 percent, and prevalence of moderate-to-severe depression was 7.2 percent. The researchers found that the hazard ratios (with 95 percent confidence intervals) were 1.35 (1.07 to 1.72) and 1.62 (1.24 to 2.12) for all-cause mortality for mild and moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms versus none. The corresponding hazard ratios (95 percent confidence intervals) were 1.49 (1.11 to 2.00) and 1.79 (1.22 to 2.62) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) ­­­mortality and 0.96 (0.58 to 1.60) and 2.21 (1.24 to 3.91) for ischemic heart disease mortality. Across subgroups, the associations were largely consistent. Lifestyle factors explained about 11.0 to 16.1 percent of the associations between depression and mortality. Independent associations were seen for feeling tired or having little energy, poor appetite or overeating, and having little interest in doing things with all-cause and CVD mortality but not ischemic heart disease mortality.

"Taken together with the body of literature on associations between depression and CVD mortality, these findings can support public health efforts to develop a comprehensive, nationwide strategy to improve well-being, including both mental and cardiovascular health," the authors write.

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