Metabolic syndrome and depression

Metabolic syndrome is a range of different risk factors for cardiovascular disease including three of the following: abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein, hypertension and elevated glucose levels. Depression has been linked to metabolic syndrome but there have only been a few studies into this and gender-related differences have been largely overlooked. An Israeli study of 3,880 people who underwent a routine health check between 2003 and 2005 found that depression among women, but not men, was associated with a nearly twofold risk of metabolic syndrome and with more than twice the risk of elevated waist circumference and blood-glucose levels. Among men depression was associated with elevated waist circumference only.

Toker, Sharon, Shirom, Arie and Melamed, Samuel - Depression and the metabolic syndrome: gender-dependent association Depression and Anxiety 25(8), 661-669