Previous studies have produced contradictive results on the association between serum lipids and depressive symptoms. The present study aimed to examine the association between serum lipids and depression of adults among rural residents in central China.
This study was part of the baseline investigation of the Henan Rural Cohort Study, with 10089 participants aged 18-79 years from March to June 2017 in Xinxiang, central China. Depression were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). Serum lipids were profiled using ROCHE Cobas C501 automatic biochemical analyzer. The associations were estimated by odds ratios (ORs) using logistic regression models adjusted for different multiple confounders.
The crude prevalence of depression was 4.12%. ORs (95% CI) for depressive symptoms of atherosclerosis index (AI) and triglycerides (TG) were 1.040 (0.973, 1.111) (P = 0.254) and 1.074 (1.018, 1.133) (P = 0.009), respectively. Adjustment for all covariates selected further strengthened the association of AI, TG and depression, with ORs (95% CI) of 1.095 (1.001, 1.199) (P = 0.049) and 1.088 (1.022, 1.158) (P = 0.008), respectively. In the final model, age, socio-economic status (SES), net personal income and physical activity (PA) had a negative association with depression. Sleep quality, BMI, numbers of co-morbidity chronic diseases, and fresh vegetables intake every day had the opposite.
The cross-sectional design limits the ability to make causal inference about the proposed associations.
TG may be an independent risk factor associated with depressive symptoms. Further studies are needed to explore associations between long-term abnormal changes of cholesterol and depression of general adults.

Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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