Coronary disease & ACSCohort study
Sex-specific effects of depression on the incidence and risk factors for coronary heart disease: insights from multi-omics approaches
- Prospective cohort study with Mendelian randomisation and proteomics analyses
- sex-stratified
- UK Biobank
- two-sample and one-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR)
- plasma proteomics
Authors' conclusion
Our findings highlight significant sex differences in the effect of depression on CHD risk, which could inform sex-specific preventive strategies for reducing the cardiovascular burden in individuals with depression.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants
- Exposure
- Depression vs no depression, by sex
- Outcome
- Incident CHD
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
CHD, depression vs no depression
Adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Depression (females) vs No depressionfemales
1.30(1.24–1.37)
Depression (males) vs No depressionmales
1.14(1.09–1.19)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Genetically predicted depression and coronary heart disease (CHD) (MR)
- Causally related to CHD in females; no causal effect in males
Reproductive factors in females with depression
- Some key reproductive factors associated with high CHD risk
Life's Essential 8 factors
- Poor control of nicotine exposure, BP, BMI and blood glucose had an additional effect on CHD risk in females with depression vs males
- all P-interaction < 0.05
Plasma proteomics (UKB-PPP)
- Proteins with sex-specific associations, predominantly significant in females
- 26
Original publication
Sex-specific effects of depression on the incidence and risk factors for coronary heart disease: insights from multi-omics approaches. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 10 July 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag363
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it