Table 2.
Overview of meta-analyses examining the cross-sectional association between biological dysregulations and depression status
| Reference | Nr studies included | Nr subjects included | Pooled effect size (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metabolic dysregulation | ||||
| Metabolic syndrome |
Pan et al. 20121[22] |
29 |
155,333 |
OR = 1.42 (1.28 to 1.57) |
| Abdominal obesity |
Xu et al. 20111[57] |
15 |
34,832 |
OR = 1.38 (1.22 to 1.57) |
| Immuno-inflammatory dysregulation | ||||
| C-Reactive Protein |
Howren et al. 20091[58] |
49 |
51,234 |
d = 0.15 (0.10 to 0.21) |
| Interleukin-6 |
|
61 |
24,837 |
d = 0.25 (0.18 to 0.31) |
| Interleukin-1β |
|
14 |
756 |
d = 0.35 (0.03 to 0.67) |
| Interleukin-1RA |
|
9 |
1,214 |
d = 0.25 (0.04 to 0.46) |
| Interleukin-6 |
Dowlati et al. 20102[59] |
16 |
892 |
MD = 1.8 pg/mL (1.2 to 2.3) |
| TNF-α |
|
13 |
788 |
MD = 4.0 pg/mL (2.2 to 5.7) |
| Interleukin-1β |
|
9 |
533 |
MD = -1.6 pg/mL (-3.6 to 0.4) |
| Soluble Interleukin-2R |
Liu et al. 20122[60] |
8 |
596 |
MD = 0.56 pg/mL (0.28 to 0.84) |
| Interleukin-6 |
|
18 |
923 |
MD = 0.68 pg/mL (0.44 to 0.92) |
| TNF-α |
|
15 |
995 |
MD = 0.55 pg/mL (0.13 to 0.99) |
| Interleukin-1β |
|
10 |
580 |
MD = -0.53 pg/mL (-1.36 to 0.31) |
| Autonomic dysregulation | ||||
| Heart rate variability |
Rottenberg, 20072[61] |
13 |
686 |
d = 0.33 (0.18 to 0.49) |
| Heart rate variability |
Kemp et al. 20102[62] |
14 |
726 |
Hedges’ g = -0.21 (-0.40 to -0.02)4 |
| HPA-axis dysregulation | ||||
| Higher cortisol 3 |
Stetler and Miller 20111[63] |
354 |
18,374 |
d = 0.60 (0.54 to 0.66) |
| Higher ACTH |
|
96 |
3,812 |
d = 0.28 (0.16 to 0.41) |
| Higher CRH |
|
16 |
888 |
d = -0.53 (-1.71 to 0.65) |
| Saliva morning cortisol |
Knorr et al. 20101[64] |
20 |
2,318 |
MD = 2.6 nmol/l (1.0 to 4.2) |
| Saliva evening cortisol | 10 | 1,617 | MD = 0.3 nmol/l (0.03 to 0.5) | |
ACTH, Adrenocorticotropin hormone; CI, Confidence interval; CRH, Corticotropin-releasing hormone; d, Cohen’s d; HPA, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal; MD, Mean difference between depressed and non-depressed; OR, Odds ratio; TNF, Tumor necrosis factor.
1 Included depressed cases based on self-report checklists or psychiatric diagnostic criteria.
2 Only included depressed cases conform to psychiatric diagnostic criteria.
3 Cumulative assessment of cortisol across body fluids and across various time points.
4 Did not include data from one study including 1,018 depression patients and 515 controls that found a much smaller effect size (d = 0.12).