Association of depressive symptoms with non-fatal cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and elderly patients with hypertension: a cohort study from China

This study demonstrates graded associations between depression severity and incident non-fatal cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and elderly patients with hypertension in China. The multivariable analysis identified five modifiable risk determinants: inadequate health education, advanced age, female gender, diabetes comorbidity and hypertension exposure duration of 7-21 years. These findings necessitate precision prevention strategies combining psychocardiological interventions with risk factor modification in high-risk subgroups.