ReviewMolecular psychiatry2013
The vascular depression hypothesis: mechanisms linking vascular disease with depression.
Review in Molecular psychiatry, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 416 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
416 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 882 citations in OpenAlex.
- Homocysteine and cognitive function in depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions on depression and anxiety in aging populations: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of monoclonal antibody therapies on depression in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Pooled it
- The association between white matter hyperintensities and suicide attempts in affective disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Between Depression and Risk of Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Disruptive resting state networks characterizing depressive comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Pooled it
- Anti-inflammatory interventions for the treatment and prevention of depression among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Antidepressants and Psychotherapy Commonly Used in the Treatment of Late Life Depression for Their Effects on Cognition.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia associated with vascular impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Pooled it
- Neurobiological insights into the effects of ultra-processed food on lipid metabolism and associated mental health conditions: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Brain-cognition relationships in late-life depression: a systematic review of structural magnetic resonance imaging studies.Translational psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Association between Daily Pattern of Physical Activity and Depression: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Mental health and quality of life in different obesity phenotypes: a systematic review.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2022Pooled it
- Vascular depression in Black Americans: A systematic review of the construct and its cognitive, functional, and psychosocial correlates.The Clinical neuropsychologist · 2022Pooled it
- Depression is an independent risk factor for stroke reccurence and cognitive impairment in stroke patients.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Prediction of remission of pharmacologically treated psychotic depression: A machine learning approach.Journal of affective disorders · 2025Trial
- Influences of resting-state intrinsic functional brain connectivity on the antidepressant treatment response in late-life depression.Psychological medicine · 2023Trial
- Structural MRI-Based Measures of Accelerated Brain Aging do not Moderate the Acute Antidepressant Response in Late-Life Depression.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Association of White Matter Integrity With Executive Function and Antidepressant Treatment Outcome in Patients With Late-Life Depression.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Midlife depressive symptoms, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and obesity modify the association of long-term vascular risk factor variability from childhood with midlife cognitive function: The Bogalusa Heart Study.International journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention · 2026Article
356 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The 'Vascular Depression' hypothesis posits that cerebrovascular disease may predispose, precipitate or perpetuate some geriatric depressive syndromes. This hypothesis stimulated much research that has improved our understanding of the complex relationships between late-life depression (LLD), vascular risk factors, and cognition. Succinctly, there are well-established relationships between LLD, vascular risk factors and cerebral hyperintensities, the radiological hallmark of vascular depression. Cognitive dysfunction is common in LLD, particularly executive dysfunction, a finding predictive of poor antidepressant response. Over time, progression of hyperintensities and cognitive deficits predicts a poor course of depression and may reflect underlying worsening of vascular disease. This work laid the foundation for examining the mechanisms by which vascular disease influences brain circuits and influences the development and course of depression. We review data testing the vascular depression hypothesis with a focus on identifying potential underlying vascular mechanisms. We propose a disconnection hypothesis, wherein focal vascular damage and white matter lesion location is a crucial factor, influencing neural connectivity that contributes to clinical symptomatology. We also propose inflammatory and hypoperfusion hypotheses, concepts that link underlying vascular processes with adverse effects on brain function that influence the development of depression. Testing such hypotheses will not only inform the relationship between vascular disease and depression, but also provide guidance on the potential repurposing of pharmacological agents that may improve LLD outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.