Department of Psychiatry, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Munich, Germany.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of Mental Health, Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518020, China.
J Affect Disord. 2024 Dec 15;367:788-794. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.152. Epub 2024 Aug 24.
C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been implicated in the severity and symptomatology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to explore the structure of depressive symptoms in patients with MDD according to different groups of CRP levels using network analysis.
The study included 864 individuals (mean age = 54.05, 67.48 % male) diagnosed with MDD from the 2015-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Analyses examined how depressive symptoms and CRP level were related to each other, and how the network structure of depressive symptoms differed across groups with different CRP levels.
A direct positive correlation was observed between CRP levels and specific depressive symptoms (e.g., appetite change, energy loss, and feelings of worthlessness). Moreover, there was a stronger correlation between depressive symptoms in the medium CRP and high CRP groups compared to the low CRP group. Furthermore, it was observed that there were notable structural differences between the high-CRP and moderate-CRP groups.
The study is based on cross-sectional data, which precludes the drawing of causal conclusions. Furthermore, it does not take into account confounding factors such as body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle.
The findings underscore the pivotal role of CRP as a marker of the severity of depressive symptoms. Routine CRP level testing and anti-inflammatory therapies may be beneficial for depressed patients with elevated CRP levels in clinical practice.
C 反应蛋白（CRP）水平与重度抑郁症（MDD）的严重程度和症状学有关。本研究旨在通过网络分析，探讨根据 CRP 水平不同的 MDD 患者的抑郁症状结构。
本研究纳入了 2015 年至 2020 年全国健康与营养调查（NHANES）中 864 名 MDD 患者（平均年龄 54.05 岁，67.48%为男性）。分析考察了抑郁症状和 CRP 水平之间的相互关系，以及 CRP 水平不同的患者组之间抑郁症状网络结构的差异。
CRP 水平与特定的抑郁症状（如食欲改变、能量损失和无价值感）之间存在直接正相关。此外，中、高 CRP 组的抑郁症状之间的相关性比低 CRP 组更强。此外，还观察到高 CRP 和中 CRP 组之间存在显著的结构差异。
本研究基于横断面数据，因此无法得出因果关系的结论。此外，它没有考虑到混杂因素，如体重指数（BMI）和生活方式。
这些发现强调了 CRP 作为抑郁症状严重程度的标志物的关键作用。在临床实践中，对于 CRP 水平升高的抑郁患者，常规 CRP 水平检测和抗炎治疗可能是有益的。
