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AimTo investigate the association between depression, metabolic syndrome (MBS), somatic, particularly cardiovascular comorbidity, and low-grade chronic inflammation assessed using C-reactive protein (CRP).MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 76 patients with recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) and 72 non-depressed medical staff controls from the Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center Zagreb between January 2011 and June 2012.ResultsSeventy-five percent of patients had somatic comorbidity. The most common comorbid conditions were cardiovascular disorders (46.1%), locomotor system diseases (35.5%), carcinoma (15.8%), thyroid diseases (9.2%), and diabetes (9.2%). MTB was more common in RDD patients (31.6%) than in controls (23.6%), but the difference was not significant. Elevated CRP was found to be significantly more frequent in patients with recurrent depressive disorders (RDD) (35.5%; χ2 test, P = 0.001, Cramer V = 0.29) than in controls (12.5%) and was associated with lowered high-density lipoprotein and overweight/obesity.ConclusionWe found some intriguing links between stress, depression, metabolic syndrome, and low grade inflammation, which may be relevant for the prevalence of somatic comorbidity in patients with RDD, but further studies are needed to confirm our results.

Background:Previous studies on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with bipolar disorder have reported higher rates than in their respective general populations.Objective:This study evaluates the prevalence rate and modal subcomponents of metabolic syndrome in 34 patients treated in University Hospital Centre Zagreb,Croatia.Method:Naturalistic, cross sectional study. Patients were evaluated for the presence of metabolic syndrome according to NCEP ATP-III criteria.Results:Mean age was 41.1(SD 12.9). Overall prevalence rate of MetS was 35.3%. Forty seven percent met the criterion for abdominal obesity, 58.8% for hypertrigliceridemia, 23.5 % for low HDL cholesterol, 50.0% for hypertension, and 23.5 for high fasting glucose. There was no diference in the prevalence rate by gender.Conclusions:Clinical medical monitoring for these parameters is recommended. Psychotropic drugs use may confer differential risk for developing the metabolic syndrome.

Back ground:The importance of cholesterol for health, physical and psychological well-being has been recognized for a long time. Changes in serum cholesterol levels may have a direct impact on mental perfomance, mood, behavior, survival and expected lifetime duration.Objective:To examine the association between depression and cholesterol levels and to discuss the possible imlications in clinical practice.Method:A MEDLINE search was conducted to identify relevant studies and reviews. The results of our own research will be also presented.Results:Clinical investigations of cholesterolemia in patients with depressive disorders have produced very conflicting results. Recently, low serum cholesterol was proposed as a biological marker for depression, suicide and affective disorders. Depression has increasingly been recognized as an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). On the other side, CHD is related to high serum cholesterol levels. It seems that both low and high serum cholesterol may be associated with a higher risk of the premature deaths as well as with depression.Conclusion:Our current knowledge on the relation between cholesterolemia and depressive disorders is poor and controversial. The lipoprotein profile, rather than total cholesterol levels, seems to be more important.