Objective: To examine the role of the adipose-tissue-derived low-grade inflammation markers adiponectin and resistin in major depressive disorder (MDD) in a population-based sample.
Method: Serum levels of adiponectin and resistin were measured from 70 DSM-IV MDD subjects and 70 healthy controls. Depression severity was assessed with the 29-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.
Results: The MDD group had lowered serum adiponectin levels. Regression modelling with adjustments for age, gender, overweight, several socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, coronary heart disease and metabolic syndrome showed that each 5.0 microg/ml decrease in serum adiponectin increased the likelihood of MDD by approximately 20% (P = 0.01). The resistin levels correlated with atypical (P = 0.02), but not with typical depressive symptoms (P = 0.12).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the lowered adiponectin levels in MDD are depression-specific and not explained by conventional low adiponectin-related factors such as such as coronary heart disease and metabolic disorders.