Statin and Aspirin Use and the Risk of Mood Disorders among Men

Lana J Williams; Julie A Pasco; Mohammadreza Mohebbi; Felice N Jacka; Amanda L Stuart; Kamalesh Venugopal; Adrienne O'Neil; Michael Berk

doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyw008

Statin and Aspirin Use and the Risk of Mood Disorders among Men

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2016 Jun;19(6):pyw008. doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyw008. Epub 2016 Feb 2.

Authors

Lana J Williams¹, Julie A Pasco², Mohammadreza Mohebbi², Felice N Jacka², Amanda L Stuart², Kamalesh Venugopal², Adrienne O'Neil², Michael Berk²

Affiliations

¹ IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Drs Williams, Pasco, and Jacka, Ms Stuart, Drs Venugopal, O'Neil, and Berk); Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, St Albans, Victoria, Australia (Dr Pasco); Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia (Dr Mohebbi); Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Drs Jacka and Berk); Murdoch Children's Research Institute Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Dr Jacka); Black Dog Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia (Dr Jacka); Health Statistics Unit, South Australia Department for Health and Ageing, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (Dr Venugopal); Melbourne School of Population & Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia (Dr O'Neil); School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Prahran, Australia (Dr O'Neil); Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Dr Berk); Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre for Youth Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Dr Berk). lanaw@barwonhealth.org.au.
² IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Drs Williams, Pasco, and Jacka, Ms Stuart, Drs Venugopal, O'Neil, and Berk); Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, St Albans, Victoria, Australia (Dr Pasco); Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia (Dr Mohebbi); Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Drs Jacka and Berk); Murdoch Children's Research Institute Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Dr Jacka); Black Dog Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia (Dr Jacka); Health Statistics Unit, South Australia Department for Health and Ageing, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (Dr Venugopal); Melbourne School of Population & Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia (Dr O'Neil); School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Prahran, Australia (Dr O'Neil); Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Dr Berk); Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre for Youth Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (Dr Berk).

Abstract

Background: There is a growing understanding that depression is associated with systemic inflammation. Statins and aspirin have anti-inflammatory properties. Given these agents have been shown to reduce the risk of a number of diseases characterized by inflammation, we aimed to determine whether a similar relationship exists for mood disorders (MD).

Methods: This study examined data collected from 961 men (24-98 years) participating in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. MD were identified using a semistructured clinical interview (SCID-I/NP). Anthropometry was measured and information on medication use and lifestyle factors was obtained via questionnaire. Two study designs were utilized: a nested case-control and a retrospective cohort study.

Results: In the nested case-control study, exposure to statin and aspirin was documented for 9 of 142 (6.3%) cases and 234 of 795 (29.4%) controls (P < .001); after adjustment for age, exposure to these anti-inflammatory agents was associated with reduced likelihood of MD (OR 0.2, 95%CI 0.1-0.5). No effect modifiers or other confounders were identified. In the retrospective cohort study of 836 men, among the 210 exposed to statins or aspirin, 6 (2.9%) developed de novo MD during 1000 person-years of observation, whereas among 626 nonexposed, 34 (5.4%) developed de novo MD during 3071 person-years of observation. The hazard ratio for de novo MD associated with exposure to anti-inflammatory agents was 0.55 (95%CI 0.23-1.32).

Conclusions: This study provides both cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence consistent with the hypothesis that statin and aspirin use is associated with a reduced risk of MD.

Keywords: Statins; aspirin; cytokines; depression; epidemiology; immune system; inflammation; mood disorder; prevention.