SynthesisPsychosomatic medicine2014
Depression and oxidative stress: results from a meta-analysis of observational studies.
Synthesis in Psychosomatic medicine, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
133 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 273 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) and Human Metabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Identifying the differentially expressed peripheral blood microRNAs in psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Research Progress on the Antidepressant Effects of Baicalin and Its Aglycone Baicalein: A Systematic Review of the Biological Mechanisms.Neurochemical research · 2024Pooled it
- Association between Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Depression Symptoms in Young People and Adults Aged 15-45: A Systematic Review of Cohort Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Resveratrol and Depression in Animal Models: A Systematic Review of the Biological Mechanisms.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Pooled it
- Antioxidant uric acid in treated and untreated subjects with major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis and meta-regression.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2018Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Oxidative Stress Markers in Depression.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a Saffron and Withania Supplement on Mood in Women With Mild-to-Moderate Anxiety During the COVID-19 Lockdown.Depression and anxiety · 2024Trial
- Resveratrol adjunct to methylphenidate improves symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Neurobehavioral Effects of Consuming Dietary Fatty Acids.Biological research for nursing · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Unifying the hallmarks of major depression through neuroimmune-metabolic-oxidative (NIMETOX) dysregulation: a mechanistic systems framework.Cellular & molecular immunology · 2026Review
- Article
- Long-term real-world PM 2.5 exposure induces depression-like behaviors in mice by disrupting nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-mediated astrocyte-to-microglia communication.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Age-dependent association of uric acid levels with depressive symptoms in adults: NHANES 2007-2018.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Article
- Association between depression and chronic lung diseases in older Chinese adults: a national cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- MKRN1 as a prioritized drug target for postpartum depression: evidence from druggable proteome profiling and multi-layer validation.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Oxidative Stress in Treatment-Resistant and Refractory Depression: A Hidden Therapeutic Target?Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Metabolomic insights: LC-MS profiling of human placental tissue from SSRI-treated pregnancies.European journal of medical research · 2026Article
- Targeting the cGAS-STING Pathway: Modulating Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Autophagy for Novel Depression Therapies.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo perform a systematic review and meta-analysis that quantitatively tests and summarizes the hypothesis that depression results in elevated oxidative stress and lower antioxidant levels.
methodsWe performed a meta-analysis of studies that reported an association between depression and oxidative stress and/or antioxidant status markers. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched for articles published from January 1980 through December 2012. A random-effects model, weighted by inverse variance, was performed to pool standard deviation (Cohen's d) effect size estimates across studies for oxidative stress and antioxidant status measures, separately.
resultsTwenty-three studies with 4980 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Depression was most commonly measured using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria. A Cohen's d effect size of 0.55 (95% confidence interval = 0.47-0.63) was found for the association between depression and oxidative stress, indicating a roughly 0.55 of 1-standard-deviation increase in oxidative stress among individuals with depression compared with those without depression. The results of the studies displayed significant heterogeneity (I(2) = 80.0%, p < .001). A statistically significant effect was also observed for the association between depression and antioxidant status markers (Cohen's d = -0.24, 95% confidence interval = -0.33 to -0.15).
conclusionsThis meta-analysis observed an association between depression and oxidative stress and antioxidant status across many different studies. Differences in measures of depression and markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant status markers could account for the observed heterogeneity. These findings suggest that well-established associations between depression and poor heath outcomes may be mediated by high oxidative stress.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.