Association Between the Ratio of Serum Uric Acid to High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Depressive Symptoms in Middle-aged and Elderly Chinese

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2025 Mar 10

PMID 40063865

Authors

Hongwei Zhao

Mingcheng Xu

Yu Han

Shuang Liu

Yongtai Gong

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have reported that metabolic syndrome is associated with depression. In recent years, the ratio of uric acid to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (UHR) has been considered as a new effective marker of metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between UHR and depression in people aged 45 years and older in China using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS) database.

Methods: A total of 10,396 subjects aged 45 years and above were included in this cross-sectional study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) was used to facilitate rapid screening and assessment of depression. A CESD-10 score of ≥ 10 was considered the critical value of depression. UHR was calculated from the ratio of serum uric acid (mg/dL) to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL). Linear regression and logistic regression were used to explore the relationship between UHR and depression, respectively. In addition, subgroup analysis and interaction tests were performed.

Results: The study found that UHR was negatively associated with depression. In the fully adjusted model, every 1-unit increase in UHR was associated with a 14% lower odds of developing depression (OR = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.05-0.37). Participants in the highest quartile of UHR were 24% less likely to develop depression compared with participants in the lowest quartile (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.87). The interaction analysis indicates that this negative correlation is more pronounced in the subgroup aged 60 years and above.

Conclusion: UHR was significantly negatively correlated with depressive symptoms in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. However, further prospective studies are needed to accurately elucidate the causal relationship between increased UHR levels and the risk of depression. Therefore, larger cohort studies are needed to support these findings.

References

Malhi G, Mann J . Depression. Lancet. 2018; 392(10161):2299-2312. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31948-2. View

Huang C, He X, Zhang X . A study on the mechanism of how sensory impairment affects depression in the elderly: the mediating roles of daily activity capability and social participation. Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1410422. PMC: 11578716. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1410422. View

Kang S, Lim J, Park H . Relationship between low handgrip strength and quality of life in Korean men and women. Qual Life Res. 2018; 27(10):2571-2580. DOI: 10.1007/s11136-018-1920-6. View

Deng F, Jia F, Sun Y, Zhang L, Han J, Li D . Predictive value of the serum uric acid to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio for culprit plaques in patients with acute coronary syndrome. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2024; 24(1):155. PMC: 10935860. DOI: 10.1186/s12872-024-03824-z. View

Zhong R, Chen Q, Li M, Li N, Chu C, Li J . A cross-sectional study on the association of serum uric acid levels with depressive and anxiety symptoms in people with epilepsy. BMC Psychiatry. 2021; 21(1):17. PMC: 7791969. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-03019-8. View

Liu J, Lin C, Wu M, Wang Y, Chen S, Yang T . Co-delivery of indomethacin and uricase as a new strategy for inflammatory diseases associated with high uric acid. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2023; 14(7):1820-1838. DOI: 10.1007/s13346-023-01487-5. View

Lehto S, Niskanen L, Tolmunen T, Hintikka J, Viinamaki H, Heiskanen T . Low serum HDL-cholesterol levels are associated with long symptom duration in patients with major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010; 64(3):279-83. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02079.x. View

Agatisa P, Matthews K, Bromberger J, Edmundowicz D, Chang Y, Sutton-Tyrrell K . Coronary and aortic calcification in women with a history of major depression. Arch Intern Med. 2005; 165(11):1229-36. DOI: 10.1001/archinte.165.11.1229. View

Qin K, Bai S, Chen W, Li J, Guo V . Association of comorbid depression and obesity with cardiometabolic multimorbidity among middle-aged and older Chinese adults: A cohort study. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2022; 107:104912. DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104912. View

10.

Sugimoto K, Yamada T, Kitazawa A, Fukuda Y . Metabolic syndrome and depression: evidence from a cross-sectional study of real-world data in Japan. Environ Health Prev Med. 2024; 29:33. PMC: 11240112. DOI: 10.1265/ehpm.23-00369. View

11.

Lehto S, Hintikka J, Niskanen L, Tolmunen T, Koivumaa-Honkanen H, Honkalampi K . Low HDL cholesterol associates with major depression in a sample with a 7-year history of depressive symptoms. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2008; 32(6):1557-61. DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2008.05.021. View

12.

Yao M, Han X, Yin Y, Wang S, Han Y, Zhao H . Associations between serum uric acid and risk of depressive symptoms in East Asian populations. BMC Psychiatry. 2024; 24(1):930. PMC: 11658045. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-06343-5. View

13.

Koenig H, Blazer D . Epidemiology of geriatric affective disorders. Clin Geriatr Med. 1992; 8(2):235-51. View

14.

Du C, Wang C, Liu Z, Bai N, Zhu J, Ali A . The relationship between sleeptime and depression among middle-aged and elderly Chinese participant during COVID-19 epidemic and non-epidemic phases. Front Psychiatry. 2024; 15:1361184. PMC: 11117139. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1361184. View

15.

Li S, Zhang J, Yang Y . Correlation between the physical activity volume and cognitive and mental capacity among older adult people in China: a cross-sectional study based on the 2020 CHARLS database. Front Public Health. 2024; 12:1462570. PMC: 11614726. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1462570. View

16.

Nong Y, Wu G, Lu J, Wei X, Yu D . The mediating role of obesity in the development of depression in individuals with diabetes: A population-based study from NHANES 2005-2014. J Affect Disord. 2024; 351:977-982. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.02.036. View

17.

Bazmandegan G, Dehghani M, Karimifard M, Kahnooji M, Balaee P, Zakeri M . Uric acid to HDL ratio: A marker for predicting incidence of metabolic syndrome in patients with type II diabetes. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024; 34(4):1014-1020. DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2023.12.022. View

18.

Otani N, Hoshiyama E, Ouchi M, Takekawa H, Suzuki K . Uric acid and neurological disease: a narrative review. Front Neurol. 2023; 14:1164756. PMC: 10268604. DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1164756. View

19.

Mottillo S, Filion K, Genest J, Joseph L, Pilote L, Poirier P . The metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010; 56(14):1113-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2010.05.034. View

20.

Abera A, Shifeta M, Tesfaye S, Addisu B, Hirigo A . Metabolic syndrome and its associated factors among adults with cardiac diseases: A cross-sectional comparative group study. JRSM Cardiovasc Dis. 2024; 13:20480040241271789. PMC: 11329911. DOI: 10.1177/20480040241271789. View