The effects of statins on mood: a review of the literature

While, Alison; Keen, Louise

doi:10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2010.08.008

Cited by 42 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The reason for the positive association between symptom severity and HDL‐C is unclear, particularly since HDL‐C has anti‐inflammatory properties 46 and recent evidence suggests that use of cholesterol improving medication is associated with improved mental health 47. Nevertheless, the findings are consistent with previous research demonstrating that depressive symptoms and suicidality are associated with lowered total cholesterol and higher HDL‐C,48, 49 although heterogeneity between studies is high and the effect is not always observed 50, 51. Overall, people with psychopathology may have a more nuanced risk pattern across metabolic syndrome components, rather than increased risk of metabolic abnormalities across the board.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Bidirectional Prospective Associations of Metabolic Syndrome Components With Depression, Anxiety, and Antidepressant Use

et al. 2016

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BackgroundMetabolic syndrome components—waist circumference, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), triglycerides, systolic blood pressure and fasting glucose—are cross‐sectionally associated with depression and anxiety with differing strength. Few studies examine the relationships over time or whether antidepressants have independent effects.MethodsParticipants were from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA; N = 2,776; 18–65 years; 66% female). At baseline, 2‐ and 6‐year follow‐up, participants completed diagnostic interviews, depression and anxiety symptom inventories, antidepressant use assessment, and measurements of the five metabolic syndrome components. Data were analyzed for the consistency of associations between psychopathology indicators and metabolic syndrome components across the three assessment waves, and whether psychopathology or antidepressant use at one assessment predicts metabolic dysregulation at the next and vice versa.ResultsConsistently across waves, psychopathology was associated with generally poorer values of metabolic syndrome components, particularly waist circumference and triglycerides. Stronger associations were observed for psychopathology symptom severity than diagnosis. Antidepressant use was independently associated with higher waist circumference, triglycerides and number of metabolic syndrome abnormalities, and lower HDL‐C. Symptom severity and antidepressant use were associated with subsequently increased number of abnormalities, waist circumference, and glucose after 2 but not 4 years. Conversely, there was little evidence that metabolic syndrome components were associated with subsequent psychopathology outcomes.ConclusionsSymptom severity and antidepressant use were independently associated with metabolic dysregulation consistently over time and also had negative consequences for short‐term metabolic health. This is of concern given the chronicity of depression and anxiety and prevalence of antidepressant treatment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Bidirectional Prospective Associations of Metabolic Syndrome Components With Depression, Anxiety, and Antidepressant Use

et al. 2016

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“…Statins are strong HMGR inhibitors widely prescribed in therapies against hypercholesterolemia and their benefits in preventing atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases are incontrovertible. Recently, it has been reported that high-dose statin treatment induces effects in emotional, learning, and memory processes (Kilic et al, 2012;Douma et al, 2011;Baytan et al, 2008;While and Keen, 2010). However, the role of the MVA biosynthetic pathway in the modulation of emotional behavior and cognitive performance is still unclear because of the lack of systematic studies on the causal link between the activation of this metabolic pathway and behavioral and cognitive outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simvastatin Treatment Highlights a New Role for the Isoprenoid/Cholesterol Biosynthetic Pathway in the Modulation of Emotional Reactivity and Cognitive Performance in Rats

Segatto¹,

Manduca²,

Lecis³

et al. 2013

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The aim of the present work was to shed light on the role played by the isoprenoid/cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in the modulation of emotional reactivity and memory consolidation in rodents through the inhibition of the key and rate-limiting enzyme 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) both in vivo and in vitro with simvastatin. Three-month-old male Wistar rats treated for 21 days with simvastatin or vehicle were tested in the social interaction, elevated plus-maze, and inhibitory avoidance tasks; after behavioral testing, the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, dorsal, and ventral striatum were dissected out for biochemical assays. In order to delve deeper into the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed effects, primary rat hippocampal neurons were used. Our results show that HMGR inhibition by simvastatin induces anxiogenic-like effects in the social interaction but not in the elevated plusmaze test, and improves memory consolidation in the inhibitory avoidance task. These effects are accompanied by imbalances in the activity of specific prenylated proteins, Rab3 and RhoA, involved in neurotransmitter release, and synaptic plasticity, respectively. Taken together, the present findings indicate that the isoprenoid/cholesterol biosynthetic pathway is critically involved in the physiological modulation of both emotional and cognitive processes in rodents.

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“…Possible effects of statins on mood have been reviewed recently [8]. The authors reviewed effects of statins on a variety of mood states namely depression, anxiety, anger, hostility, fatigue, confusion and vigour.…”

Section: Concerns About Statinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can blood cholesterol levels be too low?

Stanley

2010

Lipid Technology

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Like glucose, cholesterol is an essential cellular nutrient and like glucose, blood cholesterol levels need to be kept within limits. The deleterious effects of hypercholesterolaemia on the risk of cardiovascular disease are well established and have resulted in the widespread prescription of statins to lower blood cholesterol levels and hence lower the risk of developing the disease. However, the possible deleterious effects of hypocholesterolaemia on mental health are less well studied and while there is enough evidence to cause concern, there is not enough evidence to be sure that these deleterious effects really exist. More research is urgently needed and in particular studies which investigate the possibility that LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol have different effects on mental health as they do on cardiovascular health.

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The effects of statins on mood: a review of the literature

Abstract: This review found conflicting evidence of a relationship between statins and mood. Further research is recommended in particular with older, female and lower socioeconomic samples. However, nurses should be alert to the risk and ready to intervene in cases of mood disturbance.

Cited by 42 publications

References 52 publications

Bidirectional Prospective Associations of Metabolic Syndrome Components With Depression, Anxiety, and Antidepressant Use

Bidirectional Prospective Associations of Metabolic Syndrome Components With Depression, Anxiety, and Antidepressant Use

Simvastatin Treatment Highlights a New Role for the Isoprenoid/Cholesterol Biosynthetic Pathway in the Modulation of Emotional Reactivity and Cognitive Performance in Rats

Can blood cholesterol levels be too low?

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