SynthesisEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2025
The effect of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on depressive symptoms and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Molecular Mechanisms of Accelerated Ageing in Geriatric Depression: Interplay of Telomere Attrition, Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Cellular Senescence.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial control of blood-brain barrier homeostasis in neuroinflammatory psychiatric disorders.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnxiety and depression are major global health concerns that can manifest as primary disorders or as comorbid symptoms alongside other medical conditions. Due to the troubling side effects and treatment resistance associated with conventional pharmacological interventions, therapeutic agents that target oxidative stress and inflammation, such as CoQ10, have been considered.
objectiveTo quantitatively evaluate the effect of CoQ10 on symptoms of depression and anxiety across different clinical populations.
methodsWe followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and comprehensively searched relevant databases up to March 2025. The primary outcomes were depression and anxiety symptoms measured by different validated scales. We estimated pooled effect estimates using standardized mean differences (SMDs) and applying random-effects models.
resultsWe identified seven small trials with up to 400 patients meeting the eligibility criteria, of which six studies were included in the meta-analysis. CoQ10 demonstrated significant improvement in depression severity compared to placebo in trials using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) 6-8 weeks after treatment initiation (3 trials, 158 patients, std. mean difference [95% CI] -0.97 [-1.49, -0.45]), and at low daily doses (3 trials, 193 patients, -0.84 [-1.54, -0.14]). No significant effects were observed in trials using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (3 trials, 146 patients, -0.12 [-0.68, 0.43]). Regarding anxiety severity, only two small studies were analyzed, and no statistically significant reduction was observed with CoQ10 (101 patients, -0.28 [-0.70, 0.13]).
conclusionOur analysis provided limited evidence that CoQ10 may improve depressive symptoms when administered in low doses (100-200 mg/day) and for short durations (6-8 weeks). More data is needed for a reliable assessment of the effects of Coenzyme Q10 on both depression and anxiety.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40833470What 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.