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A new study investigated the relationship between antioxidant levels and depression. Plasma CoQ10 levels were measured in subjects with treatment-resistant depression and in healthy controls. The results showed that CoQ10 levels were significantly lower in depressed subjects compared to controls. In fact, 51.4 percent of the depressed subjects had plasma CoQ10 levels lower than the lowest plasma CoQ10 levels in the healthy controls. Furthermore, the subjects with treatment-resistant depression and chronic fatigue had significantly lower CoQ10 levels than other depressed subjects. The researchers concluded, “The results show that lower CoQ10 plays a role in the pathophysiology of depression and in particular in treatment-resistant depression and chronic fatigue in depression. It is suggested that depressed patients may benefit from CoQ10 supplementation. “The findings that lower CoQ10 is a risk factor to coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure (CHF) and mortality due to CHF suggest that low CoQ10 is another factor explaining the risk of cardiovascular disorder in depression. Since statins significantly lower plasma CoQ10, depressed patients and in particular those with treatment-resistant depression and chronic fatigue represent populations at risk to statin treatment.”
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