Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40589629›Full record

ArticleGeneral psychiatry2025

Reassessing the relationship between major depressive disorder and blood lipids: a comprehensive Mendelian randomisation study.

Genmin Sun, Disong Xia, Baiqiang Xue, Xuemin Jian, Lixia Peng, Baokun Wang, Chuanhong Wu, Chengwen Gao, Lin He, Yifeng Xu and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in General psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Evaluating the causal effects of circulating metabolites on major depression disorder.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Genmin SunShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0035-6333
Disong XiaShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Baiqiang XueThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8217-604X
Xuemin JianShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Lixia PengThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Baokun WangThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Chuanhong WuThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Chengwen GaoThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Lin HeShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yifeng XuShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0403-1141
Xiangzhong ZhaoThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Qian ZhangThe Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & The Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University (Qingdao Branch of SJTU Bio-X Institutes), School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Hui CaoDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Hospital of Hunan Province (The Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province), The School of Clinical Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yanqin WenShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yongyong ShiShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
James B PotashDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Jianhua ChenShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Zhiqiang LiShanghai Mental Health Center, Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0174-9254

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that a considerable proportion of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently exhibit pronounced dyslipidaemia. However, the causal dynamics between MDD and dyslipidaemia remain elusive. Aims: To comprehensively disentangle the genetic causality between MDD and various phenotypes of blood lipids, thereby facilitating the advancement of management strategies for these conditions. Methods: We conducted a two-sample univariable Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis using different models, including the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method and causal analysis using the summary effect (CAUSE) estimates, as well as a multivariable MR analysis. This analysis used summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of MDD and five lipid traits: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides (TG), encompassing 5 237 893 individuals of European and East Asian ancestries. For MDD, a total of 598 701 individuals were included, with 500 199 individuals of European ancestry (N Results: In univariable MR, we observed a negative causal effect of low-density lipoprotein on MDD in both European populations (IVW: odds ratio (OR): 0.972, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.947 to 0.998, p=0.037) and East Asian populations (IVW: OR: 0.928, 95% CI 0.864 to 0.997, p=0.042). Additionally, we identified a bidirectional causal relationship between TG and MDD, with TG having a causal effect on MDD (IVW: OR: 1.052, 95% CI 1.020 to 1.085, p=0.001) and MDD having a causal effect on TG (IVW: OR: 1.075, 95% CI 1.047 to 1.104, p<0.001). Multivariable MR analysis further supported the role of TG in MDD (OR: 1.205, 95% CI 1.034 to 1.405, p=0.017). CAUSE estimates indicated that the causal model of MDD on TG provided a better fit than the sharing model (p=0.003), while the association of TG on MDD was more likely due to horizontal correlated pleiotropy than causality. Mediation analyses revealed that waist-hip ratio (WHR) mediated 69% of the total causal effect of MDD on TG, while other identified risk factors exhibited lower mediating proportions either mediated through MDD (≤17%) or originating from MDD (≤29%). The GWAS meta-analysis highlighted potential pathways related to lipid processes and nucleosome assembling, with significant cell types identified in brain regions and liver tissues. Conclusions: The findings indicate that genetic proxies of MDD are associated with elevated levels of TG, with WHR serving as a clinical indicator of the association. This suggests that interventions targeting WHR may be effective in reducing TG levels in patients with MDD.

Indexed as

Affective Disorders, PsychoticDepressive Disorder, MajorGenome-Wide Association StudyMendelian Randomization AnalysisModels, Genetic

Identifiers

PMID40589629
PMCPMC12207131

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