Journal of the American Heart AssociationNov 12, 2026, 12:59 GMT

Multiple traumas linked to depression after cardiovascular disease

After cardiovascular disease, multiple childhood traumas were linked to a higher rate of depression than no trauma exposure, with a hazard ratio of 2.260.

Paper by Qiang Li, Shiqiang Cheng, Feng Zhang, Xin Qi · Xi’an Jiaotong University

Figure 1. Flow chart for the selection of the study population.Flow chart for the selection of the study population.Li et al.

Our read

Populations

Studied:: Cohort study of 138,036 UK Biobank participants, against people with no trauma exposure
What changed:: Depression after cardiovascular disease was more frequent with multiple childhood traumas than no trauma exposure (hazard ratio 2.260)
The catch:: Other life circumstances linked to trauma histories could account for depression after cardiovascular disease

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

The 138,036 UK Biobank participants were part of a cohort study that used multistate models to examine transitions between health, cardiovascular disease, depression and death. Cardiovascular disease affects the heart and blood vessels. Over a median follow-up of 13.65 years, 14,278 participants developed cardiovascular disease, and 679 subsequently developed depression.

Compared with no trauma exposure, multiple childhood, adult and lifetime traumas were linked to higher rates of depression after cardiovascular disease. The hazard ratios were 2.260, 1.950 and 1.608, respectively. A hazard ratio compares the rate at which an event occurs during follow-up between groups. Multiple traumas in each category were also linked to developing cardiovascular disease in the first place.

Why it matters

Cardiovascular disease is a concern in later life. The authors called for clinical and public health efforts targeting multiple traumas to reduce progression through cardiovascular disease and depression.

Caveats

The cohort analysis left open whether other life circumstances associated with trauma histories helped account for depression after cardiovascular disease.