Table 1.
Studies of vascular function with depressive disorders or symptomatology. The following studies were identified from systematic review of PubMed using search terms of major depression or bipolar disorder and endothelial function, vascular function, or arterial stiffness and review of references from selected studies. Studies not designed to assess the impact of a mood disorder or course of illness in mood disorder are not included. Studies assessing dynamic properties of blood vessels (e.g., vasodilatory response, stiffness) were included. Anatomical measurement (e.g., carotid intima-media thickness) or surrogate biomarkers of endothelial function (e.g., intercellular and vascular adhesion molecules) were not included. Age range may be as reported from sample statistics or inclusion/exclusion criteria.
| Author, year | Sample | Mean age (range), years |
Measure | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajagopalan S et al. 2001 | 15 persons with major depression and unspecified number of controls |
~30 | Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of brachial artery |
Lower FMD in those with depression |
| Broadley AJ et al. 2002 | 12 persons with major depression and 10 controls |
~37 (18-55) | FMD of brachial artery | Lower FMD in those with depression |
| Broadley AJ et al. 2006 | 30 persons with depression and 36 controls |
40 (18-55) | FMD of brachial artery | Lower FMD in those with depression versus controls |
| Rybowski JK et al. 2006 | 31 persons with mood disorder and 18 controls |
43 (24-61) | Albuterol-induced changes in augmentation index (AIX, endothelial function) |
Poorer endothelial function in depressed subjects |
| Wagner JA et al. 2006 | 39 postmenopausal women, 19 with a lifetime history of major depression |
61 (45-80) | FMD of brachial artery | Lower FMD in those with history of depression |
| Wagner et al. 2009 | 44 postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus |
63 (NR - 85) | FMD of brachial artery | Poorer endothelial function in those with recurrent depression |
| Greenstein AS et al. 2010 | 16 patients with late-life depression and 15 controls |
72 (NR - 60) | Constriction to norepinephrine and dilation to acetylcholine in gluteal fat biopsied small arteries |
Impaired dilation to acetylcholine in those with depression |
| Lavoie KL et al. 2010 | 323 patients at risk for coronary heart disease referred for exercise stress tests |
59 (33-80) | FMD of brachial artery (nuclear imaging) |
Lower FMD in those with major and minor depression |
| Oulis P et al. 2010 | 20 women with major depression and 20 controls |
57 | Carotid-femoral PWV | Greater arterial stiffness (PWV) with major depression that reversed with antidepressant treatment |
| Paranthaman R et al. 2010 | 25 older adults with depressive disorder and 21 controls |
72 (60 - NR) | Carotid femoral PWV, AIX from radial artery, and endothelial function from dilation to acetylcholine of gluteal fat biopsied small arteries (N=31) |
Poorer endothelial function in depressed group, marginally greater arterial stiffness by PWV in depressed group |
| Garcia RG et al. 2011 | 50 with first-episode of major depression and 50 healthy controls |
23 | FMD of brachial artery | No difference in flow-mediated dilation in this young sample |
| Seldenrijk A et al. 2011 | 449 cases with depressive or anxiety disorders and 169 controls selected from Netherlands study of Depression and Anxiety |
47 (18 - 65) | AIX adjusted for heart rate of 75 from radial artery |
Greater arterial stiffness with current depressive or anxiety disorders |
| Zhuo C et al. 2011 | 24 persons with major depression and 20 controls |
32 | Brachial artery FMD before and after ischemia-reperfusion injury |
Depression scores correlated with post-ischemia reperfusion FMD |
| Fiedorowicz JG et al. 2012 | 35 participants with mood disorder previously followed for 27 years through Collaborative Depression Study |
61 (50 - 76) | FMD and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation of brachial artery, carotid- femoral PWV, AIX from radial artery |
Lower FMD in those with history of greater manic/hypomanic symptom burden |
| Murray DP et al. 2012 | 27 individuals with bipolar disorder with 27 controls |
32 (18 - 50) | FMD and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation of brachial artery, carotid- femoral PWV, AIX from radial artery |
No difference between cases and controls in this young sample. |
| Sodhi SK et al. 2012 | 62 individuals with bipolar disorder | 33 (20 - 46) | Carotid-femoral PWV, AIX from radial artery |
Greater than expected arterial stiffness relative to age-based norms only for older half of sample. |
| Wagner JA et al. 2012 | 215 postmenopausal women without suspected coronary artery disease |
62 (NR - 80) | FMD of brachial artery | Lower FMD with lifetime history of major depression |
NR = Not reported