Depressive Symptoms and Heart Rate Variability

Evidence for a Shared Genetic Substrate in a Study of Twins

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19302151
AutoresViola Vaccarino (0000-0002-9054-0654, Emory University, autor de correspondencia), Rachel Lampert (0000-0003-3313-0939), J Douglas Bremner (0000-0003-1633-6433), Forrester Lee, Shaoyong Su (0000-0002-6059-2760, autor de correspondencia), Carisa Maisano, Nancy V Murrah, Nancy Murrah (0000-0002-9333-3781), Linda Jones (0000-0003-1419-9244), Farhan Jawed, Nadeem Afzal (0000-0001-7477-0487), Assef Ashraf (0000-0002-4911-0679), Ali Ashraf (0009-0005-9508-0078), Jack Goldberg (0000-0003-1979-2530)
Año2008
Volumen70
Número6
Páginas628-636
Fecha de publicación2008-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
EditorialOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/psy.0b013e31817bcc9e
PMID18606724
OpenAlexW1996925377
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas56

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the relationship between depression and heart rate variability (HRV) in a sample of twins. Reduced HRV, a measure of autonomic dysfunction, has been linked to depression but many studies have inadequately controlled for familial and environmental factors. Furthermore, little is known about whether depression and HRV share common genetic pathways. METHODS: We performed power spectral analysis on 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiograms in 288 middle-aged male twins. Log-normalized ultra low, very low, low, high frequency, and total power were calculated. A lifetime history of major depressive disorder (MDD) was determined, using the Structured Clinical Interview for Psychiatry Disorders, and current depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory. Mixed-effect regression models were used to account for intrapair variability and estimate within-pair effects at the same time controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Both current depressive symptoms and a history of MDD were significantly associated with lower HRV. There was a graded effect, and power in each frequency band was 29% to 36% lower in the lowest band compared with the highest BDI category. All HRV measures except high frequency remained significantly associated with current depressive symptoms in multivariable analysis, but not with lifetime history of MDD. When analyses were stratified by zygosity, a significant within-pair association between BDI score and HRV was found in the dizygotic but not in the monozygotic twins, suggesting a genetic influence on the association. CONCLUSIONS: A shared, genetically influenced biological pathway underlies the association between depression and lower HRV. These two phenotypes may be the expression of a generalized neurobiological perturbation

Anxiety · Beck Depression Inventory · Biology · Blood pressure · Confounding · Depression (economics) · Dizygotic twin · Heart rate · Heart rate variability · Heritability · Major depressive disorder · Monozygotic twin · Mood · Psychiatry · Twin study · Zygosity · Clinical Psychology · Emotion and Mood Recognition · Functional Brain Connectivity Studies · Genetics · Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology