Depressive symptoms have an independent, gradient risk for coronary heart disease incidence in a random, population-based sample.

Purpose: Depression is a risk factor for incident coronary heart disease (CHD), and predicts poor prognosis for patients post-myocardial infarction (MI). Few population-based, prospective studies have tested a gradient risk for depressive symptoms on CHD incidence.

Methods: The sample (n=1302) was derived from the Nova Scotia Health Survey-1995 (NSHS95), an age- and sex-stratified, random, population-based health survey. All subjects were 45 years or older, free of overt CHD at baseline, and completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Covariates included age, sex, body mass index, physical activity level, family history of premature CHD, diastolic blood pressure, lipids, smoking, alcohol use, diabetes, and education level. For the 4 years following NSHS95, MI-related hospitalizations (ICD-9-CM code 410) and CHD-related deaths (ICD-9-CM codes 410-414) were extracted from the provincial, universal healthcare registry.

Results: Fifty-two participants experienced a CHD event. A one standard-deviation increase in CES-D score was associated with a 1.32 hazard risk (confidence interval, 1.01-1.71) of CHD events, controlling for established CHD risk factors.

Conclusions: An independent, gradient association between depression and incident CHD was detected in a population-based sample with complete 4-year CHD data. This evidence supports the value of investigating mechanisms linking depression and CHD.