To the Editor: The latest guidelines for the management of absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk released by the National Vascular Disease Prevention Alliance1 question the utility of conventional risk assessment methods to accurately estimate cardiovascular risk of individuals with depression. Subsequently, these guidelines advocate that individuals assessed for CVD risk be assessed for depression and other psychosocial factors. This appears to be a promising advance, as the current scope of CVD prevention and management activities in medical and public health spheres remains somewhat limited to more traditional risk factors.
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- 1. National Vascular Disease Prevention Alliance. Guidelines for the management of absolute cardiovascular disease risk. http://www. kidney.org.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=A%2BRjUoFXdMg%3D&tabid=635&mid= 1584 (accessed Sep 2012).
- 2. World Health Organization. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs): fact sheet no. 317. Geneva: WHO, 2011. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/index.html (accessed May 2012).
- 3. O’Neil A, Williams ED, Stevenson CE, et al. Co-morbid cardiovascular disease and depression: sequence of disease onset is linked to mental but not physical self-rated health. Results from a cross-sectional, population-based study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2012; 47: 1145-1151.
- 4. Van der Kooy K, van Hout H, Marwijk H, et al. Depression and the risk for cardiovascular diseases: systematic review and meta analysis. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2007; 22: 613-626.
- 5. O’Neil A, Williams ED, Stevenson CE, et al. Co-morbid depression is associated with poor work outcomes in persons with cardiovascular disease (CVD): a large, nationally representative survey in the Australian population. BMC Public Health 2012; 12: 47. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-47.
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