Youth depression and inflammation: cross-sectional network analyses of C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin-6 and symptoms in a population-based sample

Pedro H. Manfro, Luciana Anselmi, Fernando Barros, Helen Goncalves, Joseph Murray, Isabel O. Oliveira, Luciana Tovo-Rodrigues, Fernando C. Wehrmeister, Ana M.B. Menezes, Valeria Mondelli, Luis A. Rohde, Christian Kieling

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
18 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background
Inflammation-related proteins constitute a promising avenue in studying biological correlates of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, MDD is a heterogeneous condition – a crucial aspect to be considered in association studies. We examined whether inflammatory proteins are associated with categorical diagnosis, a dimensional total sum-score, and specific depressive symptoms among youths.

Methods
We analyzed data from the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort, a population-based study in Brazil that followed individuals up to age 22 years. Categorical psychiatric diagnoses were derived using adapted modules of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Dimensional symptomatology was assessed using the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale–Revised (CESD-R). We estimated network structures that included individual depressive symptoms as measured by CESD-R items, peripheral inflammatory markers (C-Reactive Protein [CRP] and Interleukin-6 [IL-6]), as well as relevant covariates.

Results
We evaluated 2586 participants (mean age = 22.5[SD = 0.33]) There were no associations between concentrations of inflammatory proteins and categorical diagnosis of MDD or with CESD-R total sum-scores. In symptom-specific analysis, CRP and IL-6 were positively connected to somatic and cognitive items.

Discussion
We found cross-sectional connections of two commonly studied inflammatory proteins and specific depressive symptoms. Conducting symptom-specific analyses in relation to biological markers might advance our understanding of the heterogeneity of MDD.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)197-201
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Psychiatric Research
Volume150
Early online date5 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Youth depression and inflammation: cross-sectional network analyses of C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin-6 and symptoms in a population-based sample'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this