Abstract
It remains unclear whether cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are associated with depression in the general elderly population. We thus performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between depression and CMBs. A systematic literature search was conducted in EBSCO, PubMed, and Web of Science for relevant studies that assessed the relationship between depression and the prevalence of CMBs. Five eligible studies including 7,328 patients were pooled in meta-analysis. The prevalence of CMBs was 18.0%. The prevalence of depression was 11.1%. The pooled analysis demonstrated odds ratio for CMBs and depression to be 1.187 (95% confidence interval 1.005-1.403; p = 0.043) with no evidence of statistical heterogeneity (I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.621). Our meta-analysis of available published data indicated an increased prevalence of depression in the subjects with pre-existing CMBs. This finding supports the vascular depression hypothesis. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of CMBs in the pathogenesis and progression of depression, which might provide a potential target for the prevention and treatment.
Highlights
Depression is a common mood disorder in the elderly and is associated with high rates of morbidity and risk for mortality (1)
We identified 44 articles of PubMed, 179 of EBSCO, and 60 of Web of Science in our initial search
After adjusting for some potential confounds, such as age, the severity of leukoaraiosis, mini mental state examination (MMSE), and so on, the presence of Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) was still associated with depression (OR = 1.279, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 1.008–1.623; p = 0.043) (3, 4, 13)
Summary
Depression is a common mood disorder in the elderly and is associated with high rates of morbidity and risk for mortality (1). Several studies have indicated that cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) might play an important role in the etiologic factors of depression (3–5). Histopathological analysis indicated that CMBs consisted of hemosiderin accumulations from red blood cells that presumably had leaked out of small vessels (8), and CMBs and Depression early endothelial failure might be involved in its main pathological mechanism (9). We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether an association between depression and CMBs exists, considering these potential confounds mentioned earlier, in the general elderly population. It remains unclear whether cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are associated with depression in the general elderly population. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in EBSCO, PubMed, and Web of Science for relevant studies that assessed the relationship between depression and the prevalence of CMBs
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