A meta-analysis on inflammation and autonomic nervous system of coronary heart disease combined with depression

Abstract Objective This meta-analysis aimed to explore the association between inflammatory factors, HRV, and the coexistence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and depression. Methods The most common databases were chosen for data research, including PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE. We searched the data from the inception date through Mar. 16, 2023. The effect estimates and heterogeneity was synthesized by Review Manager version 5.3. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias were analyzed by STATA software. Results By searching the databases, we identified a total of 6750 articles. There were 22 articles left after selection, including 6344 participants. This meta-analysis indicates that CHD patients with depression have higher levels of CRP (0.45 [0.08, 0.82], P=0.02), hs-CRP (0.28 [0.07, 0.48], P=0.008) and a lower level of SDNN (-0.64 [-1.11, -0.17], P=0.008), SDANN (-12.77 [-21.20, -4.33], P=0.003), SDNNIDX (-13.83 [-15.94, -11.72], P<0.00001), RMSSD (-8.02 [-13.62, -2.43], P=0.005) pNN50 (-0.86 [-1.41, -0.31], P=0.002), than those without depression. Conclusion This study highlights that a higher level of inflammatory factors and lower HRV would help to predict depressive symptoms in CHD patients.