Dregan A, Rayner L, Davis KAS, et al. - This population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted to investigate the relationship of depression with elevated midlife arterial stiffness (AS) and to examine the extent to which this relationship is mediated via metabolic syndrome (MetS). Researchers collected from 124,445 individuals aged 40 to 69 years from the UK Biobank between March 2006 and December 2010. Via verbal interview and linked hospital-based clinical depression diagnosis, lifetime history of depression was evaluated. The MetS was characterized as the presence of 3 or more hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and unhealthy waist circumference. The data showed that one-third of the correlation of depression with raised ASI levels during midlife may be accounted for by combined MetS and inflammatory processes. It was reported that unhealthy waist circumference and hypertriglyceridemia appeared as the most important potential targets within women and men, respectively.