Background: Depression is prevalent among women and has been associated with a variety of diseases, more specifically with cardiovascular disease. The metabolic syndrome is gaining reputation as an important risk factor for major chronic diseases. However, the study on relationship between depression and metabolic syndrome are scarce and have been limited to restricted age groups involving female participants. The current study examined the association between depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome in Korean women through broad age ranges.
Method: The participants included 4.615 Korean women aged 15~85 years. Each individual was assessed for the presence of metabolic syndrome according to the NECP-ATP Ⅲcriteria except for waist circumference, for which new criteria recently suggested by Korean Society for Study of the Obesity was used. Depressive symptoms were assessed by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
Results: Of the total participants, 594 women (12.9%) had metabolic syndrome. There was a graded relationship between depression and number of the metabolic syndrome components (P < 0.01). The prevalence of Metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in depressed women (P < 0.001). Among the components of metabolic syndrome, High glucose level (P < 0.05) and central obesity (P < 0.01) were associated with depressive symptoms.
Conclusions: This study shows that metabolic syndrome is associated with depressed women through wide range of ages and suggests that further studies on interaction between depression and metabolic syndrome are needed.

Keywords: Beck depression inventory, Depression, Metabolic syndrome