Abstract

BACKGROUND: Depression is known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Since recent preclinical evidence suggests that endogenous agonists of cannabinoid receptors (endocannabinoids) are involved in both cardiovascular function and depression, we asked whether endocannabinoids correlated with either in humans. RESULTS: Resting blood pressure and serum content of endocannabinoids in ambulatory, medication-free, female volunteers with depression (n = 28) and their age- and ethnicity-matched controls (n = 27) were measured. In females with depression, both diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures were positively correlated with serum contents of the endocannabinoids, N-arachidonylethanolamine (anandamide) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. There was no correlation between blood pressure and endocannabinoids in control subjects. Furthermore, depressed women had significantly higher systolic blood pressure than control subjects. A larger body mass index was also found in depressed women, however, it was not significantly correlated with serum endocannabinoid contents. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study raises the possibility that endocannabinoids play a role in blood pressure regulation in depressives with higher blood pressure, and suggests an interrelationship among endocannabinoids, depression and cardiovascular risk factors in women.