Abstract
Low folate has been causatively linked to depression, but research is contradictory. An association may arise due to chance, bias, confounding or reverse causality. A systematic review of observational studies which examined the association between depression and folate was conducted. 11 relevant studies ( 15 315 participants; three case - control studies, seven population surveys and one cohort study) examining the risk of depression in the presence of low folate were found. Pooling showed a significant relationship between folate status and depression ( odds ratio (OR)(pooled unadjusted) = 1.55; 95% CI 1.26 to 1.91). This relationship remained after adjustment for potential confounding (OR)(pooled adjusted) = 1.42; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.83). Folate levels were also lower in depression. There is accumulating evidence that low folate status is associated with depression. Much of this evidence comes from case - control and cross-sectional studies. Cohort studies and definitive randomised-controlled trials to test the therapeutic benefit of folate are required to confirm or refute a causal relationship.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 631-637 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of epidemiology and community health |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2007 |
Keywords
- FOLIC-ACID FORTIFICATION
- DISABLED OLDER WOMEN
- SERUM FOLATE
- MENDELIAN RANDOMIZATION
- PSYCHIATRIC-PATIENTS
- MAJOR DEPRESSION
- DIETARY-FOLATE
- PLASMA FOLATE
- CELL FOLATE
- MTHFR
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