Combined effects of depressive symptoms and visceral fat metabolism score on cardiometabolic multimorbidity: results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011-2020.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Previous studies have suggested that depressive symptoms and metabolic score for visceral fat (METS-VF) may share common pathophysiological pathways, and their combined effects may amplify shared mechanisms, thereby increasing the risk of Cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM). This study aimed to investigate the joint effect of depressive symptoms and METS-VF on the risk of CMM.

METHODS AND

RESULTS

Data were derived from CHARLS between 2011 and 2020. CMM was defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular events, and stroke, occurring between 2013 and 2020. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the baseline joint effects of depressive symptoms and METS-VF on the incidence of CMM. A total of 8822 participants were included. During the 9-year follow-up, 10.97 % developed CMM. Compared with individuals without depressive symptoms and with low METS-VF, those with depressive symptoms only, high METS-VF only, and both conditions had significantly higher risks of incident CMM, with adjusted HRs (95 % CIs) of 2.591 (2.040-3.292), 2.174 (1.783-2.650), and 3.663 (2.947-4.554), respectively (all P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The coexistence of depressive symptoms and elevated METS-VF is associated with a substantially increased risk of developing CMM.