Increased risk of hyperlipidemia in patients with major depressive disorder: a population-based study

We conducted this study to examine the prevalence and incidence of hyperlipidemia among Taiwanese patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

We used a random sample of 766,427 subjects who were ≥ 18 years old in 2005. Subjects with at least one primary diagnosis of MDD were identified. Individuals with a primary or secondary diagnosis of hyperlipidemia or medication treatment for hyperlipidemia were also identified. We compared the prevalence of hyperlipidemia in MDD patients with the general population in 2005. We followed this cohort from 2006 to 2010 to detect incident cases of hyperlipidemia in MDD patients compared with the general population.

The prevalence of hyperlipidemia in patients with MDD was higher than in the general population (14.4% vs. 7.9%, odds ratio 1.67; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-1.82) in 2005. The average annual incidence of hyperlipidemia in patients with MDD was also higher than in the general population (3.62% vs. 2.55%, risk ratio 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.24-1.47) from 2006 to 2010. Higher incidence of hyperlipidemia was associated with MDD group, increased age, diabetes, hypertension, and higher socioeconomic status.

Patients with MDD had a higher prevalence and incidence of hyperlipidemia compared with the general population. Younger MDD patients and MDD patients with first-generation antipsychotic exposure or antidepressant exposure had an increased risk of hyperlipidemia compared with individuals in the general population.