Depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome: is inflammation the underlying link?
Biological Psychiatry. 2008-11-01; 64(10): 896-900
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.019
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1. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Nov 15;64(10):896-900. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.019.
Epub 2008 Jul 2.
Depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome: is inflammation the underlying link?
Capuron L(1), Su S, Miller AH, Bremner JD, Goldberg J, Vogt GJ, Maisano C, Jones
L, Murrah NV, Vaccarino V.
Author information:
(1)Laboratory of Psychoneuroimmunology, Nutrition and Genetics, INRA-University
Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France.
BACKGROUND: Behavioral alterations, including depression, are frequent in
individuals with the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Recent findings suggest that
chronic activation of innate immunity might be involved. The objective of this
study was to examine the relationship between MetS and depressive symptoms and to
elucidate the involvement of inflammation in this relationship.
METHODS: Participants were 323 male twins, with and without MetS and free of
symptomatic cardiovascular disease, drawn from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry.
Depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
Inflammatory status was assessed using C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6
(IL-6); twins with both CRP and IL-6 levels above the median were classified as
having an elevated inflammatory status. Factor analysis was performed on
individual BDI items to extract specific symptom dimensions (neurovegetative,
mood, affective-cognitive).
RESULTS: Subjects with MetS had more depressive symptoms than those without.
Depressive symptoms with neurovegetative features were more common and more
robustly associated with MetS. Both the BDI total score and each symptom subscore
were associated with inflammatory biomarkers. After adjusting for age, education,
and smoking status, the MetS was significantly associated with the BDI total
score and the neurovegetative score. After further adjusting for inflammation,
the coefficient for MetS decreased somewhat but remained statistically
significant for the BDI neurovegetative subscore. When controlling for the MetS,
inflammation remained significantly associated with the BDI mood subscore.
CONCLUSIONS: The MetS is associated with higher depressive symptomatology
characterized primarily by neurovegetative features. Inflammation is one
determinant of depressive symptoms in individuals with MetS.
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.019
PMCID: PMC2621309
PMID: 18597739 [Indexed for MEDLINE]