Major Depression, Anti-Depressants Linked With Lower BMD

Depressed? Cheer up…you’re losing bone, too. According to researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and Deakin University in Australia, recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) in men is associated with lower bone density. The team also found that antidepressants were associated with lower bone mineral density (BMD), but this association was dependent on the person’s weight and site of bone measurement.

While most studies have evaluated the association between depression and lower bone density in women, this study focused on men. According to the June 12, 2015 news release, “The researchers analyzed data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study, GOS, a large, ongoing, population-based osteoporosis study carried out in the Barwon Health hospital district in Australia. Between 2006 and 2011, 928 men (aged 24-98 years) completed a comprehensive questionnaire and had BMD assessments at the forearm, spine, total hip and total body. In all, 9% of the study population had had a single MDD episode, and 5% had suffered from recurrent MDD. Furthermore, 7% of the study participants reported the use of antidepressants at the time of assessment. Recurrent MDD was associated with lower BMD at the forearm and total body, while single MDD episodes were associated with higher BMD at the total hip.”

“Antidepressant use was associated with lower BMD only in lower-weight men and varied across the bone sites. For example, the use of antidepressants was associated with reduced bone density in the hip in men weighing less than 110 kilograms [242.5 pounds]. In the forearm, however, the association of anti-depressants with reduced bone density was not observed in men until their body weight was under 75 kilograms [165 pounds].”

This work is part of a Ph.D. project of researcher Päivi Rauma; the findings were published in Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions.”