Investigating sex differences in the genetic epidemiology of depression subtypes and shared associations with cardiovascular disease in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Depression and cardiovascular disease (CVD) frequently occur together, have shared underlying disease mechanisms, and have strong shared genetic and non-genetic risk factors. In addition, depression and CVD are leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide, and disease incidence, symptoms and management vary grossly between males and females. However, sex differences in the diseases’ development and progression are still understudied. To address this gap, the objective of this study is to investigate sex differences in genetic risk for depression, and for depression that co-occurs with anxiety and/or loneliness, and to examine associations with CVD outcomes in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) cohort.