Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:57:59.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Common Genes Contribute to Depressive Symptoms and Heart Rate Variability: The Twins Heart Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Shaoyong Su ,
Rachel Lampert ,
Forrester Lee ,
J. Douglas Bremner ,
Harold Snieder ,
Linda Jones ,
Nancy V. Murrah ,
Jack Goldberg  and
Viola Vaccarino
Shaoyong Su
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, United States of America.
Rachel Lampert
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, United States of America.
Forrester Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, United States of America.
J. Douglas Bremner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, United States of America.
Harold Snieder
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, St Thomas' Campus, King's College, United Kingdom.
Linda Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, United States of America.
Nancy V. Murrah
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, United States of America.
Jack Goldberg
Affiliation:
Vietnam Era Twin Registry and the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, United States of America.
Viola Vaccarino*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, United States of America; Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, United States of America. viola.vaccarino@emory.edu.
*
*Address for correspondence: Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, 1256 Briarcliff Road NE, Suite-1 North, Atlanta, GA 30306.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Depression and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) are predictors of coronary artery disease (CAD), and highly correlated with each other. However, little is known to what extend this correlation can be explained by common genetic components. We examined 198 middle-aged male twins (121 monozygotic and 77 dizygotic) from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Current depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II and HRV was assessed on 24-hour electrocardiographic Holter recordings. Five frequency domain variables were used, including ultra low frequency (ULF), very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and total power (TPow). Structural equation modeling was used to estimate shared genetic effects for depressive symptoms and the HRV frequency domains. Both depressive symptoms (h2=.5) and all measurements of HRV showed high heritability (h2=.43-.63). A significant inverse correlation was found between depressive symptoms and all HRV indices except LF and HF, with the highest coefficient (r) for TPow (r = −.24, P = .01) and ULF (r = −.24, P = .01). Bivariate genetic modeling revealed significant genetic correlations between depressive symptoms and TPow (rA = −.21, P = .04), as well as ULF (rA = −.23, P = .02). Of the total covariance between depressive symptoms and these two HRV indices, over 80% was due to the same genetic factors. In conclusion, depressive symptoms are associated with decreased HRV and this association is due, in large part, to a shared genetic effect. These results suggest that a common neurobiological dysfunction links depression and autonomic dysregulation.

Keywords

depressive symptomsheart rate variabilitytwin studycommon genes
Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 1 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010