Study suggests gallstones to be associated with increased depression risk

A recent study has identified a significant link between gallstones and depressive symptoms in adults by highlighting a previously unclear relationship. The study aimed to investigate the association between gallstone disease and mental health, particularly focusing on depression and the findings were recently published in the Psychology Research and Behavior Management journal. By using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2017 and March 2020, the study offered strong evidence that gallstones may play a role in increasing depression risk.

This cross-sectional analysis initially assessed thousands of participants in the NHANES database. After screening, they identified 835 matched pairs of adults (some with gallstones and others without) through a statistical technique called propensity score matching (PSM). This matching process ensured that both groups were comparable in factors like age, lifestyle, and other health conditions, isolating the effect of gallstones on depressive symptoms. The study then applied a multivariate logistic regression model to adjust for additional variables which yielded more nuanced understanding of the association between gallstones and depression.

The findings suggest that adults with gallstones had an 82% higher likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms compared to the individuals without gallstones. The data showed that participants with gallstones had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.821 (with a confidence interval of 1.181 to 2.808) and a statistically significant p-value of 0.007 which indicated a strong association. These findings were robust even after accounting for multiple health and demographic factors.

To determine if gallstones might actually cause depression, the study utilized Mendelian randomization (MR) which used genetic data to help establish causal links between gallstones and depression. With the data from genome-wide association studies, this research performed both univariate and multivariate MR analyses. These analyses suggested that gallstones could indeed causally contribute to depressive symptoms, as shown by a forward univariate MR analysis with an odds ratio of 1.04 and a p-value of 0.002, along with a multivariate MR analysis with an odds ratio of 1.03 and a p-value of 0.009. Also, there was no evidence supporting reverse causation which meant that depression did not appear to lead to gallstones.

The findings underlined the importance of mental health screenings for patients diagnosed with gallstones. Early detection and treatment of depressive symptoms could significantly improve quality of life for these individuals by reducing the mental health burden on both patients and the healthcare system.

Source:

Ma, R., Li, W., Peng, Q., Ren, A., Zhao, L., Li, J., & Luo, S. (2024). Association Between Gallstones and Depressive Symptoms: Results from NHANES and Mendelian Randomization Study. In Psychology Research and Behavior Management: Vol. Volume 17 (pp. 3659–3676). Informa UK Limited. https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s477449