A study on serum lipid parameters in individuals with major depressive disorder in comparison to normal controls

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence seems to suggest that dysfunction in many biological functions is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). Literature suggests a possible link between different lipid parameters and depression. AIMS: The aim was to study lipid parameters in persons diagnosed with MDD and to find a correlation between these lipid parameters and depression. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a case–control study conducted in outpatient services of the psychiatry department. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 subjects were included in this study. Fifty drug-naïve depression cases as assessed clinically and with Hamilton Rating Scale for depression were included in the study group, while the control group comprised 50 normal controls. Lipid parameters were obtained from fasting blood samples in both the groups. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data analysis was performed using SPSS 16. Continuous variables and categorical variables were summarized, respectively, as mean and standard deviation and frequency and percentage. RESULTS: The mean serum total cholesterol (TC) and mean serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the study group were significantly low in comparison to the control group. There was a significant negative correlation with serum TC (r = −0.710; P = 0.0001), mean serum LDL-C (r = −0.608; P = 0.0001), and triglycerides (TGs) (r = −0.289; P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Drug-naïve Individuals with MDD had significantly low TC and LDL-C in comparison to normal individuals. A significantly negative correlation was there between the severity of depression and TC, LDL-C, and TG.

Keywords

• lipid parameters
• major depressive disorder
• total cholesterol