• Young-Hoon Lee, Min-Ho Shin, Jin-Su Choi, Hae-Sung Nam, Seul-Ki Jeong, Kyeong-Soo Park, Seong-Woo Choi, and Sun-Seog Kweon.
• Department of Preventive Medicine & Institute of Wonkwang Medical Science, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Korea. ; Regional Cardiocerebrovascular Center, Wonkwang University Hospital, Iksan, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2014 Nov 1; 29 (11): 150715131507-13.

AbstractWe investigated the association of depressive symptoms with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques in the general Korean population. A total of 7,554 Korean males and females aged 45-74 yr who were free from cardiovascular diseases were included in the analyses. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Subjects with a score of ≥16 were classified as having clinically significant depressive symptoms. Carotid ultrasonography was used to measure mean carotid IMT (C-IMT) and to determine the presence of plaques. A significant association between depressive symptoms and C-IMT was observed only in females. After adjustment for established cardiovascular risk factors, females with depressive symptoms had significantly greater C-IMT than females without depressive symptoms (mean difference 0.011±0.004 mm; 95% confidence interval, 0.003-0.019 mm). Compared with controls, the fully adjusted risk of females with depressive symptoms for abnormal C-IMT (≥1.0 mm) was significant (odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.30). No significant association between depressive symptoms and carotid plaques was observed in either gender. This study shows a significant association between depressive symptoms and C-IMT in middle-aged and older females.

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