Background: Depression has been shown to have adverse effects on blood pressure (BP)
and is associated with high blood pressure variability (BPV). In turn, high short-term
BPV has been related to eventual cardiovascular risk. But it is not clear how early
in adulthood the detrimental effects of depression on BPV may be discerned, if being
at high risk for depression also compromises BPV, and whether the clinical features
of depression moderate its adverse effects. We investigated these three issues among
young adults using an office-like setting. Methods: In total, 218 subjects with a
history of childhood-onset major depressive episodes (probands), 206 never-depressed
full biological siblings of the probands (high-risk siblings), and 166 emotionally
healthy unrelated controls received a psychiatric evaluation and three standardized-sitting
BP measurements 5 min apart. Short-term BPV was defined as the maximum difference
between measures (range) for each case. The statistical methods included analyses
of variance/covariance, chi-square tests, and multiple regression. Results: Systolic
and diastolic BP decreased over consecutive measurements (p < 0.001). After controlling
for age, the probands, siblings, and controls did not differ significantly in terms
of BPV. However, the number of lifetime depressive episodes did predict the diastolic
BP range (p = 0.005): probands with the highest number of depressive episodes had
the largest short-term diastolic BPV. Conclusions: On a group level, the adverse effects
on BPV of having experienced or being at high risk for depression are not yet evident
during young adulthood. However, the number of major depressive episodes, which is
an index of lifetime depression burden, predicts higher BPV. Thus, BPV monitoring
for young adults with clinical depression histories could be part of an early intervention
program to reduce the risk of eventual cardiovascular disease.
