TY - JOUR
T1 - Depressive symptoms and heart rate variability
T2 - Evidence for a shared genetic substrate in a study of twins
AU - Vaccarino, Viola
AU - Lampert, Rachel
AU - Bremner, J. Douglas
AU - Lee, Forrester
AU - Su, Shaoyong
AU - Maisano, Carisa
AU - Murrah, Nancy V.
AU - Jones, Linda
AU - Jawed, Farhan
AU - Afzal, Nadeem
AU - Ashraf, Ali
AU - Goldberg, Jack
PY - 2008/7
Y1 - 2008/7
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Autonomic function
KW - Electrophysiology
KW - Genetic factors
KW - Psychosocial factors
KW - Risk factors
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U2 - 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817bcc9e
DO - 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817bcc9e
M3 - Article
C2 - 18606724
AN - SCOPUS:52049085056
SN - 0033-3174
VL - 70
SP - 628
EP - 636
JO - Psychosomatic Medicine
JF - Psychosomatic Medicine
IS - 6
ER -