Depression: Can You Feel It in Your Bones Even After It’s Gone?

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with low bone-mineral density (BMD) in several small studies. To learn more, investigators compared BMD in 89 premenopausal women with a history of MDD in the past 3 years (only 17% were currently depressed) and 44 healthy matched controls. A subset of 17 patients and 14 controls underwent an additional battery of biochemical measures.

Compared with controls, the MDD group had significantly lower BMD (difference, 2%) at the spine and femoral neck and a significantly greater prevalence (28% vs. 11%) of low BMD (T score <–1). Differences were greatest at the femoral neck (17% vs. 2%) and total hip (15% vs. 2%). BMD was unrelated to characteristics of depression such as severity, episode frequ…