Depressive symptoms worsen the outcomes of patients affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of the present article is to study the association between serum lipid profile and the severity of depression in patients with CKD. We evaluated 132 older subjects with advanced CKD (stage 3-5, not receiving dialysis) in regular follow-up in a nephrology clinic. Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast. All patients were evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale which is comprised of 30 items that assess the severity of depressive symptoms. A backward multivariate regression analysis was performed to study the association between lipid profile and severity of depression. Low-density lipoprotein levels (β = 2.77, P = .008) and arachidonic acid/linoleic acid ratio (β = 2.51, P = .015) were found to be significantly associated with severity of depressive symptoms. Change in dietary habits or the use of hypocholesterolemic drugs could potentially prevent depressive symptoms and ameliorate outcome of patients affected by CKD. Data from prospective studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.
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