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Early markers of heart disease are worse with depressive symptoms, but that association was lessened or eliminated with regular physical activity, an observational study showed.

Higher Beck Depression Inventory-II scores correlated with more inflammation as indicated by C-reactive protein levels (P<0.001), more oxidative stress assessed by lower antioxidant glutathione (P<0.001), and poorer vascular function measured by both the augmentation index and subendocardial viability ratio (P=0.008 and P=0.001).

Those associations persisted through adjustment for a number of variables, including weight, age, and some cardiovascular risk factors, Arshed A. Quyyumi, MD, of Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute in Atlanta, and colleagues reported in a research letter in the Jan. 19 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

But getting the recommended level of physical activity interacted significantly with depressive symptom scores for inflammation and cardiac function.

"Thus, vascular stiffening and systemic inflammation that accompany worsening depressive symptoms were more pronounced in sedentary subjects, and these relationships were attenuated in subjects engaged in regular moderate to vigorous physical activity," the researchers wrote.

"Our findings highlight potential mechanisms by which depressive disorders are linked to cardiovascular disease risk, and support the routine assessment of depressive symptoms to improve cardiovascular disease risk stratification," they concluded. Physical exercise appears to prevent the adverse cardiovascular consequences of depression, but these findings need to be confirmed in a randomized trial."

Their study included 965 individuals (median age 49) free of heart disease, cerebrovascular, or peripheral arterial disease at baseline who hadn't previously been diagnosed with any affective, psychotic, or anxiety disorder.

From the American Heart Association: