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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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