Mechanisms Linking Depression to Cardiovascular Risk

May 28, 2014 updated by: Viola Vaccarino MD/PhD, Emory University
To examine the role of depression on risk for cardiovascular disease in twins.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND:

Multiple studies have demonstrated a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and worse cardiovascular disease (CVD) prognosis associated with depression that appear to synergistically and significantly adversely impact health. Because these initial studies are observational, much work remains to understand this area. If these conditions are mechanistically inter-related, identification of both conditions in the same subject may provide a means of enhancing risk stratification and most appropriately targeting therapy. If the interaction between the conditions is causal not simply associative, appropriate therapy interventions can be designed and tested.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The project is designed to clarify the role of depression on CVD risk by using a co-twin study design. The study will examine twin pairs from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry (VET). Twin pairs will be invited to participate if they meet two criteria: (1) neither has a history of CVD as of 1990 and (2) one twin is diagnosed with depression as of 1992. The study investigates the effects of depression on two indicators of "early" CVD: coronary flow reserve, assessed by means of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) myocardial infusion imaging; and heart rate variability (HRV) assessed by ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. It is hypothesized that within each pair, the twins who have clinical depression will exhibit lower coronary vascular reserve and lower heart rate variability compared with their co-twins without a history of depression. Moreover, by comparing the size of the intra-pair difference in these parameters between depression discordant monozygotic and dizygotic twins an estimate of the relative contributions of gene and environmental factors can be ascertained. In addition to the PET and HRV assessments, subjects will complete the Statistical Clinical Interview of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV SCID) to document a history of depression, a psychometric battery including the Early Trauma Inventory and Hamilton Depression Scale, and such risk factors as cigarette smoking, physical activity, blood pressure and blood lipids, glucose and insulin, indices of inflammation and thrombogenicity including levels of reactive protein C, fibrinogen, and P-selectin, and neurohormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate.

Study Type

Observational

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

No eligibility criteria

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Emory University

Collaborators

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Investigators

  • Viola Vaccarino, Emory University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2001

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2006

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 15, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 14, 2001

First Posted (Estimate)

June 15, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 29, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 28, 2014

Last Verified

May 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB00024823
  • 970 (Other Identifier: NIH ID)
  • R01HL068630 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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