Does chromium help with depression? What the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support chromium as a treatment for depression in general. What exists instead are two small trials that tested chromium picolinate only in "atypical depression" — a subtype marked by increased appetite and carbohydrate craving — and the larger of the two found no difference from placebo on its main depression score.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support chromium against typical or major depressive disorder outside the atypical subtype, and no trial has enrolled a general population that isn't already diagnosed with depression. The two trials that exist are small — 15 and 113 people — and both tested the same single dose, 600 mcg/day of elemental chromium as chromium picolinate, for 8 weeks. Nobody has tested a different dose, a different form, or a longer duration.

What the trials found

In 2003, a placebo-controlled pilot study randomized 15 adults with DSM-IV major depressive disorder, atypical type, to 600 mcg/day of chromium picolinate or placebo for 8 weeks. Seven of the chromium group and none of the placebo group met the study's responder criteria (70% vs. 0%, p = 0.02), and chromium was reported as well tolerated. The authors called the results promising and noted possible mechanisms involving serotonin-receptor sensitivity or insulin sensitivity — proposed explanations, not proof.

A larger 2005 replication randomized 113 adults with atypical depression to the same 600 mcg/day chromium picolinate dose or placebo for 8 weeks; 75 completed enough of the protocol to be evaluable. On the trial's primary measures — total score on a 29-item depression rating scale and a global-improvement scale — there was no significant difference between chromium and placebo; both groups improved substantially from baseline, which the authors attributed largely to a strong placebo response. Chromium did separate from placebo on four specific items within the rating scale: increased appetite, increased eating, carbohydrate craving, and diurnal mood variation. In a smaller subgroup of 41 people who reported high carbohydrate craving at the start, the chromium group had a significantly better overall response than placebo (65% vs. 33%, p < 0.05). The authors concluded chromium's main effect looked like appetite and carbohydrate-craving regulation, not a general antidepressant effect, and called for further study specifically in people selected for those symptoms.

Questions people ask

Does chromium help with depression?

Not as a general treatment. The trials that exist tested only a narrow subtype — atypical depression, marked by increased appetite and carbohydrate craving — used a single dose and form, and the larger trial found no difference from placebo on its main depression measure. See the trial details above for what it did find.

What is atypical depression?

It's a specific subtype whose defining features include mood that brightens in response to positive events, increased appetite or weight gain, oversleeping, a heavy or leaden feeling in the arms or legs, and sensitivity to rejection. It's the only form chromium has been tested against in a randomized trial — general or "typical" depression hasn't been studied with chromium at all.

What dose was used in the chromium and depression trials?

Both trials used 600 mcg/day of elemental chromium, delivered as chromium picolinate, for 8 weeks. No other dose, form or duration has been tested for this specifically.

Is chromium picolinate a substitute for antidepressant medication?

No. Nothing here is a substitute for medication, therapy or a doctor's evaluation, and the trials described above tested chromium against placebo, not against any medication. If you take an antidepressant or any other prescription medication, talk to your doctor before adding a supplement.

Does chromium interact with antidepressants?

Neither trial reported a drug interaction, but neither trial included anyone taking an antidepressant either — that combination hasn't specifically been studied. See chromium and medications: what to check, and ask a pharmacist or doctor before combining any supplement with a prescription medication.

When to talk to a doctor

Persistent low mood, loss of interest, or appetite and sleep changes that last more than two weeks are worth raising with a doctor rather than a supplement search. Chromium is not a treatment for depression, atypical or otherwise, and nothing in the trials above supports using it as a substitute for an evaluation, therapy or medication a doctor might recommend. If you take an antidepressant or any other prescription medication, or are pregnant or nursing, talk to a doctor before adding any supplement.

Related reading: chromium benefits: what the evidence supports, chromium: what the research does and doesn't show, and chromium side effects.