Cerebrovascular disease and depression symptoms in the cardiovascular health study.
Evidence is mounting linking cerebrovascular disease with depressive symptoms in the elderly.
Lesions in both white and gray matter have been associated with depressive symptoms and major depression. We sought to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms and white and gray matter lesions in subjects participating in the Cardiovascular Health Study. We controlled for a variety of demographic and medical variables as well as functional status and Modified Mini-Mental State Examination score. In subsequent logistic regression models, number of basal ganglia lesions remained a significant predictor after controlling for non-MRI variables and severity of white matter lesions. Our findings extend previous reports that linked cerebrovascular changes to depressive symptoms in clinical populations to a large community-based population.