The Relationship Between Serum Ferritin Level And Depression

The Relationship Between Serum Ferritin Level And Depression Aim: Iron deficiency and depression are important public health problems. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between iron deficiency and depression. Method: This study was carried out as a cross-sectional study in Karadeniz Technical University Family Medicine outpatient clinic. A total of 308 people, 146 with low serum ferritin level and 162 with normal serum ferritin level, were included in the study. Demographic information questionnaire and Beck depression inventory (BDI) were applied to volunteer participants. Ethics committee approval was received. Results: 76% of the participants are women, the average BDI score of the participants is 11,4 ± 7,1. 16% of the participants had anemia and 14% had a history of depression. Age groups, serum ferritin level, gender, history of depression and anemia; found to be important variables affecting the BDI score (p< 0,05). Of those with low serum ferritin level (n=146), 13.7% (n=20) had moderate severe depressive symptoms and 5.5% (n=8) had heavy severe depressive symptoms. While depression was detected in 28.8% (n=42) of those with low serum ferritin level, depression was detected in 6.2% (n=10) of those with normal serum ferritin level. Depression prevalence was higher in women (18.8%) than men (10.8%). In addition, 34.7% of those with anemia and 13.5% of those without anemia had depression. Conclusion: Patients with iron deficiency are evaluated by many specialties. However, mood assessment of patients is not generally performed. In our study, patients with low ferritin levels had higher BDI scores, more severe depressive symptoms, and more frequent depression than those with normal ferritin levels. The results of our study support the necessity of evaluating the mood of patients with iron deficiency. Keyword: Ferritin, Iron deficiency, Depression, Beck depression inventory