Differential Associations of Depressive Symptom Dimensions with Cardio-Vascular Disease in the Community: Results from the Gutenberg Health Study

A current model suggested that the somatic symptom dimension accounts for the adverse effect of depression in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). In order to test this model we sought to determine in a large population-based sample how symptom dimensions of depression are associated with CHD, biomarkers and traditional risk factors. The associations of cognitive and somatic symptom dimensions of depression with CHD, risk factors, endothelial function, and biomarkers of inflammation and myocardial stress were analyzed cross-sectionally in a sample of n = 5000 Mid-Europeans aged 35–74 years from the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS). Only the somatic symptom dimension of depression was associated with CHD, biomarkers (inflammation, vascular function) and cardio-vascular risk factors. When multivariable adjustment was applied by demographic and cardiovascular risk factors, the weak associations of the somatic symptom dimension with the biomarkers disappeared. However, the associations of the somatic symptom dimension with CHD, myocardial infarction, obesity, dyslipidemia and family history of myocardial infarction remained. Both dimensions of depression were independently associated with a previous diagnosis of depression and distressed personality (type D). Thus, our results partly confirm current models: Somatic, but not cognitive-affective symptom dimensions are responsible for the association between depression and CHD, inflammation, vascular function and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population. However, our findings challenge the assumptions that somatic depression might be due to inflammation or vascular dysfunction as consequence of progressed atherosclerotic disease. They rather emphasize a close interplay with life-style factors and with a family history of MI.