A recent population-based cohort study examined whether the biomarkers of carbohydrate, lipid, and apolipoprotein metabolism are associated with the risk of depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. There is increasing evidence that suggests metabolic dysregulation may contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders.

The cohort study included 211,200 participants from the Swedish Apolipoprotein-Related Mortality Risk (AMORIS) cohort. The mean age was 42.1 years at their first screening and participants were followed for a mean of 21 years. Among the 211,200 study participants, 58.0% (n = 122,535) were male and 42.0% (n = 88,665) were female. Study participants included individuals who were 16 years or older, had at least 1 routine health screening in the occupational setting between January 1, 1985, to December 31, 1996, were free of any mental disorder at baseline, and had at least 1 measurement for the studied biomarkers. As part of the screening, blood tests were done to measure glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and other markers of metabolic and cardiovascular risk. The researchers examined the study participants’ diagnoses in the Swedish Patient Register and Total Population Register to look for a first diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or stress-related disorders.

Study results showed during a mean follow-up time of 21.0 (6.7) years, 16,256 participants were diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or stress-related disorders (incidence rate, 36.4 per 10?000 person-years), with a mean age at diagnosis of 60.5 (15.6) years. Among these, 4.6% were diagnosed with depression (n = 9,725; incidence rate, 21.5 per 10?000 person-years}, 3.6% were diagnosed with anxiety (n = 7,582; incidence rate, 16.6 per 10?000 person-years), and 2.3% were diagnosed with stress-related disorders (n = 4,833; incidence rate, 10.5 per 10?000 person-years). A total of 31,28 participants (1.5%) were diagnosed with both depression and anxiety, whereas <1% were diagnosed with both depression and stress-related disorders (n = 1,978 [0.9%]) or with both anxiety and stress-related disorders (n = 1,544 [0.7%]). Only 984 participants (0.4%) had received all 3 diagnoses. Individuals with blood glucose levels of 110 mg/deciliter or higher had a 30% higher risk of depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders compared to those with lower levels. Additionally, individuals with triglyceride levels of 150 mg/deciliter or higher had a 15% higher risk of these mental illnesses compared to those with lower levels. Individuals with HDL cholesterol levels of 40 mg/deciliter or higher had a 12% lower risk of these mental illnesses compared to those with lower levels.

The study results add further evidence of the association between cardiometabolic health and psychiatric disorders and potentially advocate for a closer follow-up of individuals with metabolic dysregulations for prevention and early diagnosis of psychiatric disorders.

Reference:
Chourpiliadis C et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(4):e244525. Abstract