Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on March 13, 2009
Rheumatology 2009 48(5):576-581; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep020
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Association between depression and coronary artery calcification in women with systemic lupus erythematosus
1Department of Psychiatry, 2Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 4Lundbeck SAS, Paris, France, 5University of Pittsburgh Cardiovascular Institute, Pittsburgh, PA and 6University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
Correspondence to: Carol M. Greco, UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine, 580 S. Aiken Avenue, Suite 310, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA. E-mail: grecocm{at}upmc.edu
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Abstract |
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Objectives. To determine the associations between depression, cardiovascular risk factors and coronary artery calcification (CAC) in women with SLE and controls.
Methods. CAC was measured using electron-beam CT (EBCT). Traditional, inflammatory and lupus-related risk factors as well as depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale—CES-D) were measured at a single study visit in 161 women with SLE and 161 age- and race frequency-matched female healthy controls.
Results. Women with SLE reported more depressive symptoms than controls, with 27% of SLE and 15% of controls having CES-D scores suggestive of clinical depression. SLE women were more likely to have CAC, as well as more severe CAC compared with controls. Among the SLE women, depression was associated with greater than 2-fold odds of having any CAC [odds ratio (OR) 2.48; 95% CI 1.05, 5.87; P = 0.04], independent of traditional risk factors (age, hypertension and triglycerides) and inflammatory markers. However, when BMI was included among the covariates, the association between depression and CAC was attenuated, indicating the potential mediating role of BMI. Depression was not a risk factor for CAC in controls.
Conclusions. In women with SLE, depression was associated with CAC. This association was mediated by BMI. Depression and adiposity may add to the inflammatory burden of SLE, thus contributing to cardiovascular disease risk.
KEY WORDS: Systemic lupus erythematosus, Calcified tissue, Cardiovascular, Depression, CT scanning, Adipose tissue, Psychosocial factors, Risk factors, Inflammation
Submitted 23 July 2008;
revised version accepted 19 January 2009.
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