Higher carotid-radial pulse wave velocity is associated with non-melancholic depressive symptoms in men – findings from Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of subjects according to presence or absence of depressive symptoms as determined by BDI (<10 [no depressive symptoms] and ≥10 [presence of depressive symptoms]).

	BDI < 10 (n = 532)	BDI ≥ 10 (n = 151)	p-Value
Female, n (%)	273 (51)	105 (70)	<.001
Age (years), mean (SD)	76 (3)	77 (3)	<.001
Years of education, mean (SD)	13.1 (3.7)	12.5 (3.5)	.064
Cohabitating, n (%)	372 (70)	93 (62)	.045
Satisfied with financial situation, n (%)	326 (61)	66 (44)	<.001
Smoking, n (%)			.17
Never	256 (48)	86 (57)
History of smoking	235 (44)	55 (36)
Current smoker	38 (7)	10 (7)
Alcohol use, n (%)			<.001
None	46 (9)	29 (19)
Monthly	218 (41)	64 (42)
Weekly	268 (50)	58 (38)
Comorbidities
Diabetes, n (%)	82 (15)	30 (20)	.19
CCI, mean (SD)	1.0 (1.6)	1.4 (1.7)	.027
Medication use, n (%)
Use of antidepressants	22 (4)	28 (19)	<.001
Use of antipsychotics	3 (1)	1 (1)	.99
Use of anxiolytics	2 (0)	2 (1)	.21
Use of sleeping medication	10 (2)	3 (2)	.99
Use of lipid lowering medication	235 (44)	58 (38)	.21
Use of blood pressure medication	291 (55)	90 (60)	.28
Blood pressure (mmHg), mean (SD)
Systolic	144 (20)	141 (18)	.070
Diastolic	78 (10)	78 (10)	.77
MAP	100 (12)	99 (12)	.26
LTPA (METh/week), mean (SD)	30.6 (23.8)	23.9 (22.0)	.002
BMI (kg/m^2), mean (SD)	26.3 (4.0)	26.8 (4.0)	.15
Plasma glucose (mmol/l), mean (SD)	6.14 (0.91)	6.07 (0.85)	.38
HbA1c (%), mean (SD)	5.57 (0.44)	5.58 (0.48)	.90
Cholesterol (mmol/l), mean (SD)	5.09 (1.11)	5.24 (1.20)	.16
LDL (mmol/l), mean (SD)	2.94 (0.94)	3.00 (1.01)	.44
HDL (mmol/l), mean (SD)	1.60 (0.37)	1.62 (0.42)	.58
Triglycerides (mmol/l), mean (SD)	1.23 (0.55)	1.36 (0.80)	.018
hs-CRP (mg/dl), mean (SD)	2.54 (5.20)	2.65 (5.40)	.78

BDI: Beck Depression Inventory; BMI: body mass index; CCI: Charlson Comorbidity Index; hs-CRP: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; HbA_1c: glycated haemoglobin; HDL: high density lipoprotein; LDL: low density lipoprotein; LTPA: leisure time physical activity; MAP: mean arterial pressure.

Figure 1. Relationships of pulse wave velocity (PWV) as the function of the BDI in men and women. The curves were derived from 4-knot-restricted cubic splines regression models. The models were adjusted for age, CCI, MAP, smoking status, and years of education. The grey areas represent the 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2. Pulse wave velocity (carotid-femoral and carotid-radial) in men and women based on type of depressive symptoms (measured by Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]); no depressive symptoms, non-melancholic depressive symptoms, or melancholic depressive symptoms. Adjusted for age, CCI, MAP, smoking status, and years of education. Ratio figure represents carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity divided by carotid-radial pulse wave velocity. DS: depressive symptoms; <10: <10 points on BDI, no depressive symptoms; MeD: melancholic depressive symptoms; NmeD: non-melancholic depressive symptoms.

Data availability statement

The data is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.