Association of depressive symptoms with the progression of carotid intima–media thickness in a community-based cohort in Beijing, China

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between depressive symptoms and progression of carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT) in a Beijing community-based population. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study between 2014 and 2018. SETTING: Dwellers without cardiovascular disease, hypertension or diabetes from a Beijing community. PARTICIPANTS: 3849 Chinese community-dwelling individuals who underwent baseline screening for depressive symptoms were invited to participate in the study in 2014 and follow-up visit in 2018. Among them, 2124 participants completed carotid ultrasound examination both at baseline and a follow-up visit. After further excluding patients with a history of stroke, myocardial infarction or lower extremity arterial stenosis and those with a diagnosis of hypertension or diabetes and ankle–brachial index ≤0.9 at baseline, 1011 eligible participants were finally included. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: The rate of mean cIMT change. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up period of 4.40 years, the overall rate of mean cIMT change was 2.23% (−5.64% to 9.51%). After adjustment for 13 covariates, there was an increase of 2.36% (β=2.36, 95% CI: 0.37 to 4.36, p=0.020) for the rates of mean cIMT change in the depressive group compared with the control group. Furthermore, this association was modified by drinking status (β=3.22, 95% CI: 1.25 to 5.19, P-interaction=0.006). CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms were independently associated with progression of mean cIMT in a community-based cohort in Beijing, China. Furthermore, this relationship was modified by drinking status.