Major Depression and Coronary Artery Disease in the Swedish Twin Registry

Abstract

Although the MD-CAD relationship across the lifespan is modest, time-dependent models reveal stronger associations. The sustained effect of CAD onset on MD risk is much stronger than vice versa. The effect of MD on CAD is largely acute, and the longer-term effects are apparently mediated via depressive recurrence. When examined separately, in men, environmental effects, which are often acute, play a large role in MD-CAD comorbidity, whereas in women, chronic effects, which are in part genetic, are more important. In men, genetic sources of MD-CAD comorbidity are more important in younger members of the sample.