Self‐Reported Everyday Psychosocial Stressors are Associated with Greater Impairments in Endothelial Function in Young Adults with Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Greaney Jody L. , Koffer Rachel E. , Saunders Erika F. , Almeida David M. , Alexander Lacy M. 
Published: June 2021

Vascular dysfunction is evident in adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and likely contributes to increased cardiovascular disease risk. Exposure to psychological stress plays a critical role in the etiology of MDD and is itself associated with endothelial dysfunction, accelerated atherosclerosis progression, and increased cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Despite this clear epidemiological association, to date, no studies have examined the relation between everyday psychosocial stressors and direct measures of vascular endothelial function in adults with MDD. We tested the hypothesis that young adults with MDD exposed to everyday psychosocial stressors would exhibit more severe impairments in microvascular endothelium‐dependent dilation (EDD). Twenty young healthy adults (HC; 22±1 yrs) and 23 otherwise healthy young adults with MDD (20±0.3 yrs), classified via the structured diagnostic Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, participated. Subjects completed a psychosocial experiences survey to document their exposure to any of seven stressors over the preceding week (e.g., arguments, work stressors, home stressors). Red blood cell flux (laser Doppler flowmetry) was measured during graded intradermal microdialysis perfusion of the endothelium‐dependent agonist acetylcholine (ACh; 10−10–10−1 M). EDD was expressed as a percentage of maximum cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC=flux·mmHg−1). Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the associations between self‐reported psychosocial stress, depression, and endothelial function. Adults with MDD reported a greater number of stressors, stressor severity, stressor‐related negative emotions, and rumination about stressors compared to HC (all p<0.05), validating the established link between stress and MDD. As expected, EDD was blunted in adults with MDD (HC: 91±2 vs. MDD: 74±3%; P<0.001), reflecting pronounced endothelial dysfunction. There was a significant interaction between experiencing a psychosocial stressor in the preceding week and depression status in predicting EDD (β = −17.28; p=0.049). In adults with MDD, the experience of a stressor was related to more severe impairments in EDD (no stressor: 81±3 vs. 1+ stressors: 69±5%; p=.04). In HC, experiencing a psychosocial stressor in the preceding week did not affect EDD (no stressor: 87±6 vs. 1+ stressors: 91±2%; p= 0.48). Neither the number of stressors (β = −2.85; p=0.13) nor stressor severity (β = −6.15; p=0.14) was related to endothelial function. These preliminary data provide the first evidence that exposure to everyday psychosocial stressors is associated with greater impairments in endothelial function in young otherwise healthy adults with MDD, suggesting a potential mechanistic link between daily stress and depression in increased cardiovascular disease risk.

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This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.