Associations Between Depression and Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Late Onset, Single Episode Major Depressive Disorder

Studies show that depression is a risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Furthermore there is an increased occurrence of depression in patients with CAD. Among other mechanisms atherosclerosis is believed to play a central role regarding these notable associations between depression and CAD. Moreover, patients with late onset major depression have an increased number of small lesions found in the white matter of the brain, the so-called white matter lesions. The main goal of this project is to examine if CAD is associated with depression and/or white matter lesions. CAD is evaluated using coronary CT angiography. Depression is evaluated using a semi-structured diagnostic interview. White matter lesions are quantified using cerebral magnetic resonance.