Association of cardiovascular health using Life's Essential 8 with depression: Findings from NHANES 2007–2018

Few studies have explored the correlation between cardiovascular health (CVH) and depression. We aimed to investigate the relationship between CVH using Life's Essential 8 (LE8) and depression among US adults. 16,362 individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018 were included. The patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was utilized to recognized depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10). LE8 was scored by four health behaviors (sleep, tobacco/nicotine exposure, physical activity and diet) and four health factors (body mass index, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure) and classified into low, moderate and high CVH groups. Weighted logistic regressions, restricted cubic splines and sensitivity analyses were utilized to investigate the correlation between LE8 and depression. 1306 subjects had depression (7.98% of the participants), of which 860 (7.42%), 305 (17.24%) and 141 (3.01%) had low, moderate and high CVH, separately. In the fully adjusted model, LE8 was negatively correlated with depression (OR: 5.50, 95% CI 3.92–7.71, P < 0.001). Furthermore, there were inversely dose-response relationships between LE8 and depression (overall P < 0.001). Adhering to a high CVH, estimated by the LE8 score, was correlated with lower odds of depression.