Association between depressive symptoms and long-term heart rate variability in older women: Findings from a...

Cross-sectional studies highlighted changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in geriatric depression. However, few longitudinal studies assessed this link which remains still debated. We examined the longitudinal association between lifetime depression history, current depressive disorders, and the evolution of ANS activity in older community women.

The present data stemmed from the PROOF study, a population-based cohort of 1011 community-dwellers followed-up at 2-year intervals for 10 years. Only data from female participants was analyzed (n = 508, mean age 68.5 ± 0.88 years), as very few men had depression in our population. Depressive symptoms and depression history were collected at baseline. Participants were classified in four groups according to presence or absence of history of depression (HD) or current depressive symptomatology (CD): HD+/CD+, HD-/CD+, HD+/CD- and HD-/CD-. ANS activity was assessed during the follow-up through 24-h heart rate variability (HRV). Longitudinal associations between depressive status and HRV indices during the follow-up were investigated using multivariate linear mixed models.

Compared to HD-/CD- group, women belonging to HD-/CD+ group had greater baseline parasympathetic tone, as measured by lower LF index and LF/HF balance. The longitudinal analysis exhibited a significant enhancement of LF/HF balance with time, measuring an increase of sympathetic tone in HD-/CD+ group.

Our findings suggest that late-onset depressive symptoms may be associated with subsequent autonomic dysregulation in older women. These results highlight the importance of detecting and managing depressive symptoms to limit their consequences on ANS functioning, and the risk of cardiovascular events.