Abstract
Background: Clinical trials of the effects of statins in people with and without depressive symptoms at baseline have yielded conflicting results with studies reporting both an increase and decrease in depressive symptoms. To address these inconsistences, a systematic review and meta-analysis has been conducted to determine the effects of statins on depression in those with or without clinical major depression.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsychINFO to identify relevant articles that met predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The primary outcome measure was the mean difference in depression scores at endpoint between the statin and placebo groups which was computed using random effects model.
Results: 10 articles were found and used to determine the effects of statins on depressive symptoms. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine the effects of statins in patients with and without depression at baseline. Overall, statin use was associated with significantly lower scores on depression rating scales compared with the placebo use (SMD: −0.309, CI: −0.525, −0.094; p = 0.005). The subgroup analysis showed significant effects in the depressed population (SMD: −0.796, CI: −1.107, −0.486, p = 0.001) but not in the non-depressed population (SMD: −0.153, CI: −0.353, 0.047, p = 0.113).
Limitations: There was high heterogeneity in the studies included and only two studies had low risk of bias.
Conclusion: The results suggest that statins are effective in improving depressive symptoms, particularly in those with clinical depression and that they do not worsen depression in non-depressed subjects.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsychINFO to identify relevant articles that met predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The primary outcome measure was the mean difference in depression scores at endpoint between the statin and placebo groups which was computed using random effects model.
Results: 10 articles were found and used to determine the effects of statins on depressive symptoms. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine the effects of statins in patients with and without depression at baseline. Overall, statin use was associated with significantly lower scores on depression rating scales compared with the placebo use (SMD: −0.309, CI: −0.525, −0.094; p = 0.005). The subgroup analysis showed significant effects in the depressed population (SMD: −0.796, CI: −1.107, −0.486, p = 0.001) but not in the non-depressed population (SMD: −0.153, CI: −0.353, 0.047, p = 0.113).
Limitations: There was high heterogeneity in the studies included and only two studies had low risk of bias.
Conclusion: The results suggest that statins are effective in improving depressive symptoms, particularly in those with clinical depression and that they do not worsen depression in non-depressed subjects.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 55-63 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Affective Disorders |
| Volume | 257 |
| Early online date | 2 Jul 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2019 |
Keywords
- Statins
- Depression
- Systematic review
- Meta-analysis
- Non depressed
Access to Document
- Yatham_2019_JAD_Statins_AAM
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.002