Depression tied to cold-induced blood pressure elevation

Individuals with depressive symptoms are more susceptible to cold-induced increase in their blood pressure (BP) compared to nondepressive counterparts, suggests a Japan study.

“Cold exposure accounts for more than 7 percent of all-cause mortality worldwide, and cold-induced BP elevation and consequent cardiovascular events are partially responsible,” the authors said. “For prevention, it is important to identify risk factors for exaggerated temperature-sensitivity of BP, but this is not fully understood.”

To know these factors, a cross-sectional analysis was carried out on 1,076 community-based older adults aged ≥60 years. The authors assessed depressive symptoms using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale at a cutoff point of 4/5. They also performed ambulatory BP monitoring and indoor temperature measurement on two consecutive days during the cold season in Nara, Japan.

On multilevel linear regression analyses using daytime systolic (S)BP as a dependent variable, lower daytime indoor temperature appeared to contribute to higher daytime SBP in participants with depressive symptoms (n=216; β, ‒0.804; p<0.001) but not in those without depression (n=860; β, ‒0.173; p=0.120).

Depression was also significantly associated with daytime indoor temperature (p=0.014). Such associations existed regardless of potential confounders, such as age, gender, body mass index, medications, and physical activity. Furthermore, results were comparable for morning SBP, nocturnal SBP dipping, and morning BP surge.

“Further longitudinal studies are warranted to determine whether people with depressive symptoms are at a high risk for cold-related cardiovascular events,” the authors said.