CDC Study On Depression And Mortality Finds Wealth, Smoking, And Exercise Reduce Risk Of Death

Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and mortality in a large, diverse and representative sample of US adults.

In an article titled "Depressive Symptoms and Mortality in US Adults," published in JAMA Network Open, the CDC team found that adults with moderate to severe depressive symptoms had a higher risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and coronary artery disease than adults. without symptoms of depression.

The study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2018, which included 23,694 participants aged 20 years and older (mean age 44.7 years). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a validated screening tool for measuring depressive symptoms.

Cohort characteristics included education, marital status, poverty and income, health insurance, family history of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, antidepressant use, and alcohol consumption. The NHANES data set was adjusted to the National Death Index through 2019 to track mortality outcomes.

14.9 percent of the participants had symptoms of mild depression, and 7.2 percent had moderate and severe depressive symptoms.

A preliminary model adjusted for all-cause mortality found that mild depressive symptoms were associated with a hazard ratio of 1.42 compared with no depressive symptoms, while moderate and severe depressive symptoms were associated with a hazard ratio of 1.78.

The overall hazard ratio for cardiovascular mortality was 1.49 for mild depressive symptoms and 1.79 for moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Mild depressive symptoms had no effect on coronary heart disease mortality, whereas moderate and severe depressive symptoms had a hazard ratio of 2.21. Both were closely related to poverty levels.

Lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical activity, and sleep health have been identified as important mediators of the association between depressive symptoms and mortality. Associations were largely consistent across subgroups.

In the CDC study, unobserved and possibly unadvised smoking resulted in the most significant reduction in all-cause mortality (HR 1.65) in the mild and moderate depression groups compared with the baseline model (HR 1.78). The next most likely to be encouraged is physical activity (HR 1.67).

Research shows that treating depressive symptoms and associated risk factors can play an important role in reducing the severity of depression and its impact on mortality. The report is vague and does not address how to address specific risk factors, such as: B. Data shows income inequality is the leading cause of depression-related deaths.

More information: Zefeng Zhang et al., Depressive symptoms and mortality in US adults, JAMA Network Open (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.37011

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