The Association Between Lipid Ratio and Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background : Depression is associated with the total cholesterol, low-density cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density cholesterol levels in the blood. However, there are only a few studies on the relationship between depression and lipid ratios. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between depression and different lipid ratios. Methods : This study was conducted using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 11,648 adult men and women aged 19 years and older, without missing data, were included in this study. Depression was diagnosed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The associations between depression and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio were analyzed. A complex sample logistic regression test was used for the analysis of the odds ratios of depression. Results : In males, the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios were not associated with depression. In addition, an increase in triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio by 1 was associated with a 1.041-fold higher probability of depression in males. In females, the three lipid ratios were not associated with depression. Conclusions : Triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio is associated with depression in males. Further studies are necessary to cross-validate, explore the biological mechanism, and identify the clinical implication of this correlation.