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Are Cholesterol and Depression Inversely Related? A Meta-analysis of the Association Between Two Cardiac Risk Factors

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Cholesterol and depression are both cardiac risk factors, but the direction and magnitude of the association between these risk factors is unclear.

Purpose

Meta-analytic techniques were used to evaluate the associations among total, high-, and low-density cholesterol (TC, HDL, LDL, respectively) and depression in empirical studies.

Methods

PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and manual search strategies were used to identify descriptive studies reporting associations among TC, HDL, LDL, and depression; 30 reports were found for TC, 16 for HDL, and 11 for LDL. Effect sizes were computed and aggregated in accord with Hedges and Olkin’s (Statistical methods for meta-analysis. New York: Academic Press; 1985) procedures.

Results

Higher TC was associated with lower levels of depression, d = −0.29; this association was substantially larger among medication-free samples (d = −0.51). An inverse, non-significant association was observed between LDL and depression (d = −0.17). High HDL was related to higher levels of depression, especially in women (d = 0.20).

Conclusions

TC and depression were inversely related, with the strongest associations in medically naïve samples, which is noteworthy because such samples should involve fewer confounds. One clinical implication is that the lipids of patients treated for depression should be monitored.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported partly by an AHA Predoctoral fellowship 071001Z grant to J-Y Shin, NIA grant AG024159 to J. Suls and NIH NR 009292 grant to R. Martin. The assistance of Matthew Bryant Howren is appreciated. Dr. Martin is in the Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice (CRIISP) at the Iowa City VA Medical Center, which is funded through the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research, and Development Service. Dr. Martin is also in the College of Nursing at the University of Iowa. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Ju Young Shin Ph.D., R.N. & René Martin Ph.D., R.N.

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Jerry Suls Ph.D. & René Martin Ph.D., R.N.

  3. Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice, Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Iowa City, IA, USA

    René Martin Ph.D., R.N.

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  1. Ju Young Shin Ph.D., R.N.
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  2. Jerry Suls Ph.D.
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  3. René Martin Ph.D., R.N.
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Correspondence to Jerry Suls Ph.D..

Additional information

*References [10, 11, 28–57] were included in the meta-analysis.

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Shin, J.Y., Suls, J. & Martin, R. Are Cholesterol and Depression Inversely Related? A Meta-analysis of the Association Between Two Cardiac Risk Factors. ann. behav. med. 36, 33–43 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-008-9045-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-008-9045-8

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