Depression Is a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease in Men

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SEVERAL LINES of evidence suggest that clinical depression may be a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). In patients with known CAD, depression predicts long-term mortality.1-3 In prospective studies in which c socioeconomic status, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and preexisting heart disease were controlled for, depressed affect and hopelessness were independent risk factors for fatal and nonfatal CAD.4,5 Increasing level of depression over time, but not extent of baseline depressive symptoms, was a predictor for cardiovascular events in a sample of older adults participating in a clinical trial.6 Depressive symptoms were associated with incident CAD in a sample of elderly Danish men and women.7 However, several studies have not found an association between depression and incident CAD.8,9