Konstantina Katsana, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Ekavi Georgousopoulou, George Soulis, Georgia-Maria Kouli, Natasa Kollia, Christina Chrysohoou, Dimitrios Tousoulis, Christodoulos Stefanadis, Christos Pitsavos
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not only a detrimental effect on health, but also causes a major economic burden worldwide. Also, CVD and depression are strongly related in a bidirectional way. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been suggested for their protective role against both CVD and depression, but their potential beneficial effects still remain inconclusive. We investigated whether dietary intake of PUFA, i.e., n-3 and n-6 intake, are associated with 10-year CVD incidence. The analyses were stratified by depression status. In the context of the ATTICA study (2002-2012), 762 adult participants without previous CVD history underwent psychological evaluation through the validated Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (70 men and 141 women had moderate or severe depression, p for gender difference <0.001) Our findings showed no significant association between dietary intake of PUFA, n-3 and n-6 intake and 10-year CVD incidence in subjects with or without moderate or severe depression. Nevertheless, PUFA have an essential role in the formulation of a healthy dietary pattern, while recommendations and health strategies start focusing on the overall quality of diet and not on specific nutrients.
Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, depression, polyunsaturated fatty acids