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Co-occurrence of Metabolic Syndrome With Depression and Anxiety in Young Adults: The Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study

From the Oulu University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Oulu, Finland (A.H., P.R., J.M., K.L.); Department of Public Health, Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland (M.T., J.L.); Oulu Health Center, City of Oulu, Finland (M.T.); Academy of Finland and Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland (J.V.); Oulu Regional Institute of Occupational Health, Oulu, Finland (J.L.); Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland (A.R.); Department of Social Psychiatry, Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere and Department of Psychiatry, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland (M.J.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland (P.R.).

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Anne Herva, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Oulu, PL 26, FIN-90029 OYS, Finland. E-mail: anne.herva{at}oulu.fi

Objective: Only a few studies have dealt with the association of metabolic syndrome with depression and anxiety. We studied whether metabolic syndrome and its components are associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms in a young adult population cohort.

Methods: This study forms part of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study. The study sample consists of 5,698 members of the cohort who participated in the field study in 1997 to 1998. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the five criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were defined by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 questionnaire.

Results: Metabolic syndrome was not associated with depression or anxiety. The correlations between the components of the metabolic syndrome and psychological distress as continuous measures were low. High waist circumference (>102 cm in males and >88 cm in females) associated with depression (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–1.61), but this association vanished when adjusted for gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, marital status, level of education, and physical activity.

Conclusion: No clear association was found between the metabolic syndrome and psychological distress.

Key Words: depression • HSCL-25 • metabolic syndrome • cohort study

Abbreviations: ATP III = Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III); CI = confidence interval; HSCL-25 = Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, OR = odds ratio; HDL = high-density lipoprotein.

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