
A study of changes in inflammatory markers in patients of depression
Author(s) -
Deepti Jangpangi,
Sunita Mondal,
Rajiv Bandhu,
Dinesh Kataria,
Jayashree Bhattacharjee,
Asha Gandhi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of mental health and human behaviour/journal of mental health and human behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2543-1897
pISSN - 0971-8990
DOI - 10.4103/0971-8990.153714
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , psychology , medicine , economics , macroeconomics
Background: Depression may result in unfavorable health outcomes as it has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity. Recent researches have suggested the role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of depression and co-morbidities associated with it although the underlying mechanism relating the two is still unclear. Aim: The present study aimed to explore the association between depression and inflammatory markers including interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and high sensitive c-reactive protein (hsCRP). Materials and Methods: Thirty drug-naοve patients of depression diagnosed on the basis of ICD-10 criteria, in the age group of 20-45 years were included in the study. They were compared with 30 age, gender, body mass index, socio-economic and educational status matched apparently healthy controls. The blood samples were taken after an overnight fast and serum samples were immediately stored until the time of analysis. Results: The serum levels of hsCRP were significantly higher (P = 0.042) in depression group as compared to the control group. Although the mean serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were higher in patients of depression, they were not statistically significant (IL-6: P = 0.055, TNF-α: P = 0.053). Conclusion: It can be inferred from our study that depression is associated with underlying low-grade inflammation, which might contribute to increased morbidity in patients of depression