Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in elderly patients with depression

Aim: To assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in elderly patients with depressive disorder. Methodology: By using retrospective study design, the treatment records of all the elderly patients (aged ≥60 years) diagnosed with depressive disorders diagnosed as per the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, were reviewed and data of patients for fasting blood glucose levels, lipid profile, and anthropometry (height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure [BP]) were extracted. The diagnosis of MetS was made as per the consensus criteria. Results: Data of 93 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the study participants was 65.65 (standard deviation [SD]: 5.61) years and the mean number of years of education was 8.33 (SD: 6.65) years. The mean duration of illness was 70.93 (SD: 107.39) months, with the mean duration of the current episode at the time of collection of data as 5.38 (SD: 3.54) months. More than half (57%) of the patients fulfilled the criteria for MetS. Besides more than half of the patients fulfilling the criteria for MetS, about one-tenth (9.7%) fulfilled one criterion, and one-third (32.3%) fulfilled 2 criteria for the MetS. The most common criteria of MetS which was fulfilled included abnormal waist circumference, followed by raised blood pressure, abnormal triglyceride levels, and abnormal high-density lipoprotein. Fasting blood glucose level was the least common abnormality. The presence of MetS was associated with a higher level of education, higher income, and presence of physical comorbidity. Conclusions: Considering that more than half of elderly patients with depressive illness also suffer from MetS, it is important to monitor elderly with depression for MetS, to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.