Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Health Administration, Furukawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
PLoS One. 2021 Aug 17;16(8):e0256337. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256337. eCollection 2021.
Accumulating evidence suggests that amino acids, particularly tryptophan and glutamate, play an important role in the pathology of depression, but prospective epidemiologic data on this issue is scarce. We examined the association between circulating amino acids and the risk of depressive symptoms in a Japanese working population.
Participants were 841 workers who were free from depressive symptoms and provided blood at baseline and completed 3-yr follow-up survey. 30 varieties of amino acid concentrations in serum were measured using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Depressive symptoms were defined using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios of depressive symptoms according to serum amino acids with adjustment for lifestyle factors.
A total of 151 (18.0%) workers were newly identified as having depressive symptoms at the follow-up. Baseline tryptophan and glutamate concentrations in serum were not appreciably associated with the risk of depressive symptoms. Risk of depressive symptoms tended to increase with increasing arginine concentrations; the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for the highest versus lowest tertile of serum arginine was 1.65 (95% confidence interval: 0.96-2.83; P for trend = 0.07). No clear association was found for other amino acids.
Results of the present study do not support a significant role of circulating amino acids in the development of depressive symptoms among Japanese.
越来越多的证据表明，氨基酸，尤其是色氨酸和谷氨酸，在抑郁症的病理中起着重要作用，但关于这个问题的前瞻性流行病学数据却很少。我们研究了循环氨基酸与日本工作人群抑郁症状风险之间的关系。
研究对象为 841 名无抑郁症状且在基线时提供血液并完成 3 年随访调查的工人。使用液相色谱/质谱法测定血清中 30 种氨基酸的浓度。使用流行病学研究中心抑郁量表定义抑郁症状。采用 logistic 回归计算血清氨基酸与生活方式因素调整后的抑郁症状比值比。
共有 151 名（18.0%）工人在随访中被新诊断为抑郁症状。基线时血清色氨酸和谷氨酸浓度与抑郁症状风险无明显关联。随着精氨酸浓度的增加，抑郁症状的风险呈上升趋势；血清精氨酸最高与最低三分位比值比为 1.65（95%置信区间：0.96-2.83；趋势 P 值=0.07）。其他氨基酸没有明显的关联。
本研究结果不支持循环氨基酸在日本人群抑郁症状发展中的重要作用。
