The psychological pathways linking depression to blunted cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) are still being elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to test whether the association between eveningness, a diurnal/sleep-wake preference and CVR would be mediated by depressive symptoms. One hundred and eighty-two healthy young adults completed measures of morningness/eveningness (the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire; MEQ-SA), depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HADS) and had their blood pressure and heart rate monitored throughout a standardised stress testing protocol. Results indicated that depressive symptoms were negatively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) but not diastolic blood pressure (DBP) or heart rate (HR) reactions to the stress task. Eveningness was also negatively associated with both SBP and DBP, but not HR. As such, those who reported increased depressive symptomology, and higher scores on eveningness displayed a more blunted cardiovascular response. Furthermore, the latter relationship was mediated by depressive symptoms such that those reporting higher scores on eveningness also reported increased depressive symptomology and this resulted in blunted CVR for SBP. These findings withstood adjustment for several confounding factors including time of testing. In conclusion, the present findings highlight the importance of considering eveningness when looking at the depression-blunted CVR relationship.

将抑郁症与心血管反应迟钝 (CVR) 联系起来的心理途径仍在阐明中。本研究的目的是测试夜间、昼夜/睡眠-觉醒偏好和 CVR 之间的关联是否会由抑郁症状介导。182 名健康的年轻人完成了晨间/傍晚的测量（晨间-夜间问卷；MEQ-SA）、抑郁症状（医院焦虑和抑郁量表；HADS），并在整个标准化过程中监测了他们的血压和心率压力测试协议。结果表明，抑郁症状与收缩压 (SBP) 呈负相关，但与舒张压 (DBP) 或心率 (HR) 对压力任务的反应无关。晚间也与 SBP 和 DBP 呈负相关，但与 HR 无关。因此，那些报告抑郁症状增加和夜间得分较高的人表现出更迟钝的心血管反应。此外，后一种关系是由抑郁症状介导的，因此那些报告夜间得分较高的人也报告抑郁症状增加，这导致 SBP 的 CVR 变钝。这些发现经受住了包括测试时间在内的几个混杂因素的调整。总之，目前的研究结果强调了在观察抑郁与 CVR 关系时考虑晚上的重要性。后一种关系是由抑郁症状介导的，因此那些报告夜间得分较高的人也报告抑郁症状增加，这导致 SBP 的 CVR 变钝。这些发现经受住了包括测试时间在内的几个混杂因素的调整。总之，目前的研究结果强调了在观察抑郁与 CVR 关系时考虑晚上的重要性。后一种关系是由抑郁症状介导的，因此那些报告夜间得分较高的人也报告抑郁症状增加，这导致 SBP 的 CVR 变钝。这些发现经受住了包括测试时间在内的几个混杂因素的调整。总之，目前的研究结果强调了在观察抑郁与 CVR 关系时考虑晚上的重要性。