Table 1.
General characteristics study population according to depression status
| Characteristic | No major depressive disorder (n = 4583) | Major depressive disorder (n = 151) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age (years) | 59.2 ± 8.6 | 58.3 ± 8.4 | 0.233 |
| Sex, n (% female) | 2,30 (50.2) | 75 (49.7) | 0.934 |
| Educational level, low/medium/high, n (%) | 1397/1308/1878 (30.5/28.5/41.0) | 71/48/32 (47.0/31.8/21.2) | <0.001 |
| Partner status, n (% partner) | 3901 (85.2) | 107 (70.9) | <0.001 |
| Depression | |||
| Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score) | 2 [0–4] | 9 [6–15] | <0.001 |
| Anti-depressive medication, n (%) | 273 (6.0) | 43 (28.5) | <0.001 |
| Sleeping medication, n (%) | 93 (2.0) | 9 (6.0) | 0.005 |
| Anxiolytic medication, n (%) | 90 (2.0) | 16 (10.6) | <0.001 |
| Anti-psychotic medication, n (%) | 22 (0.5) | 8 (5.3) | <0.001 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.4 ± 4.1 | 28.3 ± 5.1 | <0.001 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 93.5 ± 12.6 | 98.2 ± 15.2 | <0.001 |
| Office systolic BP (mmHg) | 132.7 ± 17.3 | 134.6 ± 17.2 | 0.194 |
| Office diastolic BP (mmHg) | 75.4 ± 9.7 | 77.1 ± 10.4 | 0.042 |
| Antihypertensive medication, n (%) | 1465 (32.0) | 64 (42.4) | 0.010 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 2230 (48.7) | 90 (59.6) | 0.010 |
| Total/high density cholesterol ratio | 3.6 ± 1.2 | 3.8 ± 1.3 | 0.012 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.4 ± 0.8 | 1.5 ± 0.8 | 0.005 |
| Lipid-modifying medication, n (%) | 1225 (26.7) | 49 (32.5) | 0.135 |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) | 89.1 ± 14.1 | 89.7 ± 14.8 | 0.714 |
| Albuminuria, normal/micro/macro, n (%) | 1716/111/6 (93.6/6.1/0.3) | 55/9/0 (85.9/14.1/0.0) | 0.016 |
| History of CVD, n (%) | 549 (12.0) | 25 (16.7) | 0.098 |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 864 (18.9) | 49 (32.5) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes medication (all types), n (%) | 630 (13.7) | 37 (24.5) | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (mmol/mol) | 38.5 ± 8.4 | 42.2 ± 12.8 | <0.001 |
| Life style factors | |||
| Smoking, never/former/current, n (%) | 1814/2232/534 (39.6/48.7/11.7) | 54/66/29 (36.2/44.3/19.5) | 0.078 |
| Alcohol use, none/low/high, n (%) | 750/2682/1146 16.4/58.6/25.0 | 47/79/24 31.3/52.7/16.0 | <0.001 |
| Physical activity (h/week) | 14.2 ± 8.0 | 12.8 ± 8.3 | 0.047 |
| Mediterranean diet score | 4.5 ± 1.7 | 4.1 ± 1.8 | 0.001 |
| Cognitive functioning | |||
| Memory score | 0.09 ± 0.93 | −0.06 ± 0.89 | 0.061 |
| Information processing speed score | 0.09 ± 0.75 | −0.18 ± 0.82 | <0.001 |
| Executive functioning & attention score | 0.09 ± 0.78 | −0.15 ± 0.86 | <0.001 |
| Cognitive impairment, n (%) | 648 (14.1) | 35 (23.2) | 0.003 |
| Markers of brain atrophy and CSVD | |||
| Cerebrospinal fluid (ml) | 252.2 ± 47.7 | 244.8 ± 48.7 | 0.062 |
| White matter (ml) | 476.2 ± 58.4 | 464.4 ± 63.8 | 0.015 |
| Gray matter (ml) | 662.5 ± 60.6 | 649.6 ± 68.6 | 0.010 |
| Intracranial volume (ml) | 1391.8 ± 133.4 | 1359.7 ± 147.4 | 0.004 |
| WMH (ml) | 0.21 [0.06–0.66] | 0.25 [0.08–0.72] | 0.161 |
| Deep cortical WMH (ml) | 0.04 [0.01–0.19] | 0.04 [0.01–0.19] | 0.559 |
| Periventricular WMH (ml) | 0.14 [0.04–0.46] | 0.16 [0.05–0.52] | 0.120 |
| Fazekas score ⩾2, n (%) | 1054 (23.0) | 38 (25.2) | 0.556 |
| Cerebral lacunar infarct, n (%) | 197 (4.3) | 8 (5.3) | 0.539 |
| Cerebral microbleeds, n (%) | 458 (10.0) | 15 (9.9) | 1.000 |
| CSVD, n (%) | 1437 (31.4) | 52 (34.4) | 0.424 |
| MRI lag time (years) | 0.70 [0.02–1.30] | 0.80 [0.23–2.08] | 0.482 |
Data are presented as means ± standard deviation (s.d.), number (%) or median [interquartile range], and evaluated using independent t tests, Mann–Whitney U tests or χ2 tests. PHQ-9 indicates 9 item Patient Health Questionnaire; BP, blood pressure; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; CVD, cardiovascular disease; CSVD, cerebral small vessel disease; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin A1c; WMH, white matter hyperintensities.