Abstract
BackgroundDepression is associated with immunological responses as reflected by altered levels of circulating cytokines. Alcohol use and trauma may modulate immune activity, and few studies have investigated these factors in depressed patients. We aimed to explore the association between circulating peripheral cytokine levels and degree of depressive symptoms, taking trauma and alcohol into account.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional assessment of patients at admission to a specialized psychiatric center in Norway. A total of 128 patients were included. Information was gathered using the self-administered questionnaires Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), in addition to clinical interviews recording childhood or adult life trauma. Serum levels of the cytokines Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist (IL-1RA), Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) and the chemokine Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1) were assessed. A Luminex bead-based multiplex assay was used for cytokine measurements. Patient cytokine levels were compared to those of healthy volunteers by the Mann-Whitney U test.ResultsLevels of cytokines did not differ across patients with mild, moderate and severe depression. AUDIT score was not related to cytokine levels, but to level of depression. A history of trauma was related to higher levels of IL-1RA and TNF-α (p = 0.048 and p = 0.033, respectively), especially among the severely depressed. Serum levels of MCP-1 and TNF-α were significantly higher among psychiatric patients than in healthy volunteers.ConclusionsFindings indicate that depression was not related to levels of circulating cytokines among patients in treatment, but that traumatized patients had higher levels of IL-1RA and TNF-α than patients without trauma experience. The lack of relationship between cytokine level and depression was evident both in those without and with trauma.
Highlights
Depression is associated with immunological responses as reflected by altered levels of circulating cytokines
We aimed to explore the association between circulating peripheral cytokine levels and degree of depressive symptoms, taking trauma and alcohol into account
We found a relationship between patients suffering childhood or adulthood trauma and higher cytokine levels, represented by Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist (IL-1RA) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) being significantly elevated, but we found no links between childhood trauma or adulthood trauma and depression level
Summary
Depression is associated with immunological responses as reflected by altered levels of circulating cytokines. In addition to MDD, pro-inflammatory cytokines have been found to accompany anxiety disorders such as general anxiety disorder [8, 9], panic disorder and the spectrum of phobias [10] in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [11]. This may be due to activation of central and peripheral. Other factors that might cause variations are sample characteristics like comorbidity, type of trauma experienced, and time elapsed since the trauma [10, 13] Such inconsistencies apply to eating disorders, where previous results are conflicting [14, 15]. This suggests that the relationship between immunological functioning and the broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders should be further examined
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