Vitamin D supplementation for depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: The aim of this study was to review the effects of vitamin D supplementation on depressive symptoms in randomized controlled trials. Although low vitamin D levels have been observationally associated with depressive symptoms, the effect of vitamin D supplementation as an antidepressant remains uncertain.

Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, AMED, PsycINFO, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and references of included reports (through May 2013) were searched.

Accumulation of non-traditional risk factors for coronary heart disease is associated with incident coronary heart disease hospitalization and death.

Background: Assessing multiple traditional risk factors improves prediction for late-life diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD). It appears that non-traditional risk factors can also predict risk. The objective was to investigate contributions of non-traditional risk factors to coronary heart disease risk using a deficit accumulation approach.

Psychological stress and 30-day all-cause hospital readmission in acute coronary syndrome patients: an observational cohort study.

Background: Many acute coronary syndrome (ACS; myocardial infarction and unstable angina) patients are rehospitalized within 30 days of discharge, and recent US health policy initiatives have tied hospital Medicare reimbursement to 30-day readmission rates. Patient-perceived psychological stress is thought to impact prognosis after ACS. A recently offered "posthospital syndrome" model of 30-day readmissions posits that the stress level at the time of the index hospitalization itself may increase 30-day risk for readmission in ACS patients.

A test of the diathesis-stress model in the emergency department: who develops PTSD after an acute coronary syndrome?

Most acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients first present to the emergency department (ED). Patients who present to overcrowded EDs develop more posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms due to the ACS than do patients who present to less crowded EDs, but no research has indicated whether some patients may be more vulnerable to the effects of ED crowding than others. In an observational cohort study, we tested whether depressed patients developed more ACS-induced PTSD symptoms under conditions of ED overcrowding than patients who had never been depressed.

Gene-centric meta-analysis in 87,736 individuals of European ancestry identifies multiple blood-pressure-related loci.

Blood pressure (BP) is a heritable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To investigate genetic associations with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP), we genotyped ~50,000 SNPs in up to 87,736 individuals of European ancestry and combined these in a meta-analysis. We replicated findings in an independent set of 68,368 individuals of European ancestry.

Gene-centric meta-analyses for central adiposity traits in up to 57 412 individuals of European descent confirm known loci and reveal several novel associations.

Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are surrogate measures of central adiposity that are associated with adverse cardiovascular events, type 2 diabetes and cancer independent of body mass index (BMI). WC and WHR are highly heritable with multiple susceptibility loci identified to date. We assessed the association between SNPs and BMI-adjusted WC and WHR and unadjusted WC in up to 57 412 individuals of European descent from 22 cohorts collaborating with the NHLBI's Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) project.

Meta-Analysis for Sociology - A Measure-Driven Approach.

Meta-analytic methods are becoming increasingly important in sociological research. In this article we present an approach for meta-analysis which is especially helpful for sociologists. Conventional approaches to meta-analysis often prioritize "concept-driven" literature searches.

The psychosocial context impacts medication adherence after acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Depression is associated with poor adherence to medications and worse prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Purpose: To determine whether cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychosocial vulnerabilities for depression explain the association between depression and medication adherence among ACS patients.

Methods: One hundred sixty-nine ACS patients who agreed to have their aspirin adherence measured using an electronic pill bottle for 3 months were enrolled within 1 week of hospitalization.

Relationship between premature ventricular complexes and depressive symptoms in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome.

Aims: Depression is a recognized risk marker for mortality among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. We hypothesized that ventricular arrhythmia detected by inpatient telemetry monitoring is more frequent among ACS patients with elevated depressive symptoms compared to those without depressive symptoms.

Methods And Results: We analysed data from patients enrolled in a prospective observational study of depression in ACS.

The 'perfect storm' and acute coronary syndrome onset: do psychosocial factors play a role?

The revolution in cardiac care over the past two decades, characterized by emergent revascularization, drug eluting stents, anti-platelet medications, and advanced imaging has had little impact on overall ACS recurrence, or ACS prevention. The "Perfect Storm" refers to a confluence of events and processes, including atherosclerotic plaque, coronary flow dynamics, hemostatic and fibrinolytic function, metabolic and inflammatory conditions, neurohormonal dysregulation, and environmental events that give rise to, and result in an ACS event. In this article we illustrate the limits of the traditional main effect research model, giving a brief description of the current state of knowledge regarding the development of atherosclerotic plaque and the rupturing of these plaques that defines an ACS event.

Centralized, stepped, patient preference-based treatment for patients with post-acute coronary syndrome depression: CODIACS vanguard randomized controlled trial.

Importance: Controversy remains about whether depression can be successfully managed after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the costs and benefits of doing so.

Objective: To determine the effects of providing post-ACS depression care on depressive symptoms and health care costs.

Design: Multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Relation of patients living without a partner or spouse to being physically active after acute coronary syndromes (from the PULSE accelerometry substudy).

Living alone is associated with adverse outcomes after acute coronary syndromes (ACS). One potential mediator of the relation between partner status and outcomes after ACS is physical activity. To evaluate the association of partner status with physical activity after ACS, data from 107 participants enrolled in the Prescription Use, Lifestyle, and Stress Evaluation (PULSE) study, a prospective observational study of post-ACS patients, were analyzed.

Relation between leukocyte telomere length and incident coronary heart disease events (from the 1995 Canadian Nova Scotia Health Survey).

Leukocyte telomere length has been proposed as a biomarker of cellular aging and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether leukocyte telomere length is independently associated with incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in the general population. Telomere length was measured using a polymerase chain reaction method for participants enrolled in the 1995 Nova Scotia Health Survey (NSHS95; n = 1,917).

Loci influencing blood pressure identified using a cardiovascular gene-centric array.

Blood pressure (BP) is a heritable determinant of risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). To investigate genetic associations with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP), we genotyped ∼50 000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that capture variation in ∼2100 candidate genes for cardiovascular phenotypes in 61 619 individuals of European ancestry from cohort studies in the USA and Europe. We identified novel associations between rs347591 and SBP (chromosome 3p25.

Depressive symptoms and cardiovascular health by the American Heart Association's definition in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study.

Background: Depressive symptoms are associated with increased incident and recurrent cardiovascular events. In 2010, the American Heart Association published the Life's Simple 7, a metric for assessing cardiovascular health as measured by 4 health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, body mass index, diet) and 3 biological measures (cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose). The association between depressive symptoms and the Life's Simple 7 has not yet been explored.

Behavioral mechanisms, elevated depressive symptoms, and the risk for myocardial infarction or death in individuals with coronary heart disease: the REGARDS (Reason for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether behavioral mechanisms explain the association between depressive symptoms and myocardial infarction (MI) or death in individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD).

Background: Depressive symptoms are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in individuals with CHD, but it is unclear how much behavioral mechanisms contribute to this association.

Methods: The study included 4,676 participants with a history of CHD.