The following is a summary of “Exploring the role of adult attachment, major depression and childhood trauma in arterial stiffness: A preliminary study,” published in the August 2023 issue of the Psychosomatic Research by Kani et al.

Previous studies have shown a significant and complex link between depression and atherosclerosis in the preclinical stage. Unfortunately, the researchers’ understanding of the underlying biological and psychological mechanisms underpin this connection is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the association between current clinical depression and  arterial stiffness (AS), with an emphasis on the potential mediating roles of attachment security and childhood trauma. There were 38 patients with active major depression and 32 healthy controls in this cross-sectional study. 

None of the patients had dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or obesity. The Mobil-O-Graph arteriography system was used to measure AS, and subjects also had blood drawn and completed psychometric tests. The severity of AS was measured with an augmentation index (AIx) adjusted to a heart rate of 75 beats per minute. No clinically significant difference in AIx was seen between depressed people and healthy controls (P=.75) when evaluating for known cardiovascular risk factors. AIx was lower in patients with a longer time between episodes of depression (r = 0.44, P<.01). Patients’ histories of insecure attachment or early trauma were not significantly linked to AIx.

In contrast, only healthy controls showed a positive correlation between insecure attachment and AIx (r = 0.50, P =.01). Depression and early life stress were not significant risk factors for AS in their review of recognized risk factors for atherosclerosis. However, the researchers did discover a new correlation between insecure attachment and AS severity in otherwise healthy persons with no known cardiovascular risk factors. This is the first study they know about that shows this connection.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002239992300243X