Novel biomarkers of the Framingham risk score in patients with depression: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND The prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) is higher in patients with depression than in the general population. Recently, multiple novel biomarkers have been proposed to predict CHD risk, and these factors have been reported to be altered in patients with depression. AIM To explore whether these new biomarkers are associated with an increased risk of CHD in patients with depression. METHODS We recruited 279 healthy controls and 164 sex- and age-matched patients with depression and collected their clinical characteristics and laboratory values of novel cardiovascular biomarkers. The Framingham CHD risk score was used to assess the CHD risk of all individuals, and the cardiovascular markers related to the CHD risk in patients with depression were analyzed. RESULTS Patients with depression had an increased CHD risk of 5.3% (95% confidence interval: 4.470-6.103) and altered novel cardiovascular biomarkers compared to healthy controls, which included lower levels of thyroid stimulating hormone, albumin, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and higher levels of triglyceride (TG) and uric acid. Further regression analysis showed that illness duration, family history of depression, serum TG, and urea acid levels were significantly correlated with the Framingham risk score in patients with depression. CONCLUSION Patients with depression had a higher CHD risk and that their illness duration, family history of depression, serum TG, and uric acid levels could play important roles in predicting CHD risk. Moreover, elevated CHD risk in patients with depression was not only related to physiological changes caused by depression but also to their genetic susceptibility.