Carotid intima-media thickness in late-onset major depressive disorder

✍ Scribed by Cheng-Sheng Chen; Cheng-Chung Chen; Yu-Ting Kuo; I-Chan Chiang; Chih-Hung Ko; Hsiu-Fen Lin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 80 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.1420

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Background

This study explored whether patients with late‐onset major depressive disorder showed higher carotid artery intima‐medium thickness (IMT) and investigated the relationship between the IMT and white matter hyperintensities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among patients.

Methods

Fourteen elderly patients with late‐onset major depressive disorder from a psychiatric outpatient clinic and 11 non‐depressed controls received a comprehensive psychiatric assessment, ultrasound IMT measurements of the carotid arteries, and cerebral MRI.

Results

The carotid IMT was higher in the patient group vs the control group (1.26 ± 0.30 vs 1.00 ± 0.20 mm; t = 2.40, p < 0.03). The difference was more apparent in the common carotid artery (1.20 ± 0.32 vs 0.97 ± 0.13 mm; t = 2.31, p < 0.04). There was a high correlation (r = 0.55, p < 0.05) between the carotid IMT and white matter hyperintensities among patients with late‐onset major depressive disorder.

Conclusion

Results of this study suggest that atherosclerosis represented by the carotid IMT contributes to the development of late‐onset major depressive disorder. The findings support the vascular depression hypothesis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.