Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 11: A new longitudinal study has found that middle-aged and older adults with depression, visual impairment, or both face a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).

CVD, which includes conditions such as Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke, remains one of the leading global causes of illness and death. Researchers note that both Depression and Visual Impairment are common among ageing populations and have previously been associated with elevated CVD risk through behavioural, inflammatory and autonomic pathways.

To explore the combined impact of these conditions, researchers analysed data from 18,633 participants aged 45 years and above from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study between 2011 and 2018.

Participants were grouped into four categories: those with neither condition, those with depression only, those with visual impairment only, and those with both conditions. Researchers tracked new cases of cardiovascular disease during the follow-up period and calculated hazard ratios using fully adjusted Cox regression models.

The results showed that all three exposure groups had a significantly higher risk of CVD compared with participants without either condition. Individuals with depression alone had the highest risk, followed closely by those with both depression and visual impairment. Those with visual impairment alone also showed an elevated risk, though lower than the other groups.

Interestingly, researchers observed a negative interaction between depression and visual impairment, suggesting that while the coexistence of both conditions increased CVD risk compared with having neither condition, the combined effect did not exceed the risk associated with depression alone.

The findings suggest that depression may play a more dominant role in driving cardiovascular disease risk in older adults.

Researchers emphasised that routine screening for depressive symptoms in ageing populations could help improve early prevention strategies for cardiovascular disease. They also noted that integrated healthcare approaches addressing both mental health and sensory impairments may help reduce the overall burden of CVD.

The study’s strengths included its large, nationally representative sample and long-term follow-up. However, the researchers acknowledged limitations such as reliance on self-reported data and the observational nature of the analysis, which does not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.