Statins are among the most commonly prescribed medications around the world and are primarily used to lower cholesterol and reduce cardiovascular risk. Multiple small randomized clinical trials, however, have suggested that the drugs may also have antidepressive effects.
“If statins really did have this antidepressive effect, we could kill two birds with one stone,” said lead author of the study, Prof Christian Otte, Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at Charité- Universitätsmedizin Berlin, in a press release.
“Depression and adiposity, or obesity, are among the most common medical conditions globally. And they actually often appear together: Those who are obese are at a higher risk of depression. In turn, those with depression are at a higher risk of obesity,” he added.
In the current study, researchers assessed whether adding daily simvastatin to the antidepressant medication escitalopram improved depressive symptoms compared to an add-on placebo. They conducted a randomized clinical trial involving 161 patients in Germany with major depressive disorder and comorbid obesity. Patients followed treatment regimens for 12 weeks.
While all patients demonstrated clear improvement in depressive symptoms over the course of the study, the researchers found no difference between patients who received statins and those who received a placebo. Statins, however, did improve blood lipid levels and reduced levels of inflammatory marker CRP.
Clinicians should not be discouraged by the lack of additional antidepressive effects of statins and should continue prescribing lipid-lowering medications to reduce cardiovascular risks in patients with major depressive disorder and obesity, wrote the researchers in their study.
“This is important, because patients with mental disorders are less likely to receive medication for cardiovascular indications than individuals without mental disorders, despite their increased cardiovascular risk. It is reassuring that, in our study, simvastatin was equally well tolerated and safe as placebo,” they added.
Sources: EurekAlert, JAMA Psychiatry
