Association of circulation very long chain saturated fatty acids with depression in NHANES 2011–2014

Recent studies have shown that elevated levels of medium and long chain saturated fatty acids are associated with an increased risk of depression. However, little is known about the effect of very long chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) on depression. Therefore, our study aimed to examine the association between VLSFAs and depression in the US adult population. A total of 2706 participants with serum VLSFAs detection from NHANES 2011–2014 were included in the study. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between quartile levels of serum VLSFAs (20:0, 22:0, 23:0, 24:0, and total VLSFA) and depression. After adjusting for multiple variables, we found that increased circulating levels of 22:0, 23:0, 24:0 and total VLSFA were linearly associated with a reduced risk of depression (model 3, Q4 OR: 0.658, 95 % CI: 0.438–0.989, P-trend = 0.023; OR: 0.515, 95 % CI: 0.339–0.782, P-trend<0.001; OR: 0.556, 95 % CI: 0.370–0.835, P-trend = 0.003; OR: 0.652, 95 % CI: 0.435–0.976, P-trend = 0.021, respectively). Additionally, individuals with the highest serum ratios of 22:0/16:0, 23:0/16:0, 24:0/16:0 and total VLSFA/16:0 also had a lower risk of depression after adjusting for multiple variables compared to the group with the lowest serum VLSFAs/16:0 (P-trend = 0.001, <0.001, 0.001 and 0.004, respectively). Moreover, the decreasing trend of depression associated with increased VLSFAs/18:0 remained significant. In conclusion, our findings suggest that increased circulating levels of 22:0, 23:0, 24:0 and total VLSFA may have a protective effect against the risk of depression.