Peripheral artery disease, depression link

People with depression may have a higher risk of peripheral artery disease -- narrowing of the arteries in the legs and pelvis, U.S. researchers say. Study leader Dr. Marlene Grenon of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues said the study involved 1,024 men and women with coronary artery disease. When the study began, 12 percent of the study participants with depression had peripheral artery disease, compared to 7 percent of patients without depression who had peripheral artery disease. Nine percent of depressed patients and 6 percent of those without depression had peripheral artery disease-related events during the seven-year follow-up, Grenon said. Grenon said the findings demonstrated the importance of depression screening and treatment for peripheral artery disease patients. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology scientific sessions in Chicago.