The Effect of Depression on Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components among Korean Adults

Background: This study aimed to estimate the effects of depression on metabolic syndrome and its components among Korean adults (age ≥ 20). Methods: The total number of subjects was 6,177 (weighted subjects=42,200,000), and they were recruited from the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VII-3, 2018). Data were analyzed by t-test, χ 2 , and logistic regression considering strata, cluster, and weight using the SAS V9.3 program. Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and depression were 32.4% and 6.6%. The PHQ_9 depression score (2.41) of the Non-MS group was significantly higher than the score (2.18) of the MS group (p=.035). However, after all covariates (age, sex, BMI, education, marriage, income, occupation, smoking, alcohol, exercise) were adjusted, the multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that depression was not associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio (OR)=1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.73 ∼ 1.63, p=.065). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol had only significant relation with depression (OR=1.44, CI=1.10 ∼ 1.89, p ＜ .007). Conclusions: This study indicates that depression was not independently associated with metabolic syndrome risk, while the management program of depression includes HDL cholesterol control.