Objective Depressive symptoms seem to pose a risk factor for mortality among patients on dialysis. It is currently unknown whether the association is only short-lived and whether associations over time depend on specific causes of mortality. Methods In a prospective nationwide cohort study, 1528 patients with end-stage renal disease starting on dialysis completed the Mental Health Inventory. Patients were observed up to five years or until the end of follow-up in April 2011. Cox regression

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... ses were used to calculate associations between depressive symptoms and short-term (0-6 months), medium-term (6-24 months), or long-term (24-60 months) cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality. Results The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.43 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.88) for cardiovascular mortality and 2.07 (95% CI 1.62-2.64) for noncardiovascular mortality. Depressive symptoms posed a strong risk factor for noncardiovascular mortality at the shortterm (HR 2.82, 95% CI 1.58-5.05), medium-term (HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.40-3.09), and long-term (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.26-2.69), whereas the association between depressive symptoms and cardiovascular mortality was not observed during the first 6 months of follow-up (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.49-2.15). Conclusion Depressive symptoms at the start of dialysis therapy are associated with short-, medium-, and long-term mortality. The cause-specific mortality risk over time may help clinicians to understand multifactorial causes of the association between depressive symptoms and survival.