Moderating effect of Life's essential 8 on the association of depression symptoms with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Background: The association between Life's essential 8 (LE 8), depression, and mortality still unexplored.

Methods: Data of 23,247 participants aged ≥20 years old were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2018 in this retrospective cohort study. Depression symptoms were determined by the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and antidepressant use. Cardiovascular health was assessed using LE 8. Potential covariates were selected using weighted univariate Cox regression models. The associations of LE 8, depression symptoms, with mortality were explored via univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, and restricted cubic spline. And the relationships were further investigated with stratified by LE 8 scores. The results were presented as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: Of the total 23,247 adults, 3208 (15.95 %) suffered from depression symptoms. After 99.75 months of mean follow-up time, 2400 individuals were died. Of these, 781 deaths were from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Depression symptoms were associated with higher odds of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.06-1.45) and CVD mortality (HR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.04-1.77). LE 8 score < 80 was marginal significance associated with all-cause mortality (HR = 1.14, 95%CI: 0.99-1.32). LE 8 had moderating effects on the associations of depression symptoms with all-cause (HR = 1.39, 95%CI: 1.16-1.67, P trend <0.05) and CVD mortality (HR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.09-2.46, P trend <0.05).

Conclusion: Higher LE 8 scores may moderate the association of depression symptoms with all-cause and CVD mortality. Adherence to healthier lifestyle behaviors may improve the prognosis of depression.