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Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in unipolar major depression

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Abstract

Previous studies on the association between affective disorders and the metabolic syndrome yielded inconclusive results. Therefore, we examined the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in 230 men and women with unipolar major depressive disorder during inpatient treatment and compared it to 1,673 subjects from primary care from a similar region in northern Germany. We used the AHA/NHBLI criteria to determine the rate of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and each single criterion of MetS in both groups. The age-standardized prevalence of MetS was 2.4× as high in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared with data from comparison subjects (41.0% vs. 17.0%). With respect to the single criteria, elevations were found in MDD patients for fasting glucose and triglycerides in both genders, and waist circumference in women. Men in the patient and the comparison groups were found to have higher rates of increased fasting glucose and triglycerides than women in the respective groups. Factors associated with the MetS in MDD patients comprise body mass index and the severity of depression. Our results demonstrate an increased prevalence of the MetS in men and women with MDD. Interventions for the frequently untreated metabolic abnormalities and careful screening for physical health conditions among people with MDD are warranted.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank J. Ristow, J. Burow, C. Findel and A. Stoll for data collection.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors declared conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Kai G. Kahl

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Luebeck Medical School, Lübeck, Germany

    Wiebke Greggersen & Ulrich Schweiger

  3. Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Essen, Germany

    Chakrapani Balijepalli, Christian Lösch & Susanne Moebus

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Joachim Cordes

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  1. Kai G. Kahl
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  2. Wiebke Greggersen
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Correspondence to Kai G. Kahl.

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Kahl, K.G., Greggersen, W., Schweiger, U. et al. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in unipolar major depression. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 262, 313–320 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-011-0277-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-011-0277-4

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