To examine the prevalence of and factors associated with metabolic syndrome in patients with major depressive disorder.

All major depressive disorder (MDD) patients visited our psychiatric clinic were screened. Subjects who met inclusion criteria and did not have exclusion criteria were invited to join this project until reach 140 subjects. The metabolic syndrome criteria proposed by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (updated ATPIII) and International Diabetes Federation were applied for diagnosing metabolic syndrome. Age, history of antidepressant and antipsychotic use, time of illness, severity of illness and family history of metabolic syndrome were assessed as factors associated with metabolic syndrome. Data was analyzed by using percentage, mean, standard deviations, student t-test, chi-square test and Fisher's exact test.

There were 140 subjects recruited. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome determine by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (updated ATPIII) and International Diabetes Federation were 30%(42) and 31.4%(44) respectively. Family history and time of illness were significantly associated with metabolic syndrome in patients with major depressive disorder(p≤0.05).

Thai MDD patients are likely to have and develop metabolic syndrome. These findings support the importance of assessing and monitoring metabolic syndrome in MDD patients.