Background: The authors investigated the effects of suboptimal health status (SHS; high-normal blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipids) on arterial elasticity in subjects with or without anxiety or depression.
Hypothesis: Suboptimal physical health status and anxiety or depression increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study. Among 1520 subjects who underwent physical examination between May 2009 and December 2012 in Beijing and Chongqing, China, 955 were included. All subjects completed anxiety and depression questionnaires. Systemic vascular compliance (SVC), systemic vascular resistance, and brachial artery distensibility (BAD) were measured during arterial elasticity evaluation.
Results: Of 955 participants, 633 were classified as having SHS and 322 were classified as healthy. Systemic vascular compliance and BAD were worse in SHS subjects than in healthy subjects (SVC: 1.23 ± 0.22 vs 1.29 ± 0.25 mL/mm Hg; BAD: 6.26 ± 1.32 vs 6.61 ± 1.24%/mm Hg, respectively; both P < 0.05). Of 955 subjects, 37.7% and 43.9% had anxiety and depression, respectively. Systemic vascular compliance and BAD in SHS subjects with concomitant anxiety or depression were significantly lower than in SHS subjects without anxiety or depression (SVC: 1.22 ± 0.23 vs 1.23 ± 0.20 mL/mm Hg; BAD: 6.10 ± 1.36 vs 6.33 ± 1.20 %/mm Hg, respectively; both P < 0.05) and even lower than in healthy subjects.
Conclusions: Though anxiety and depression had less impact on arterial elasticity in a healthy population, they may be involved in pathogenesis of vascular damage in the population with SHS.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.