Clayton Matthew G, Cole Steve W, Giletta Matteo, Hastings Paul D, Nock Matthew K, Rudolph Karen D, Slavich George M, Prinstein Mitchell J
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Division of Hematology-Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Dev Psychopathol. 2025 Aug;37(3):1676-1684. doi: 10.1017/S095457942400186X. Epub 2025 Jan 8.
Recent theories have implicated inflammatory biology in the development of psychopathology and maladaptive behaviors in adolescence, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB). Examining specific biological markers related to inflammation is thus warranted to better understand risk for STB in adolescents, for whom suicide is a leading cause of death.
Participants were 211 adolescent females (ages 9-14 years; = 11.8 years, = 1.8 years) at increased risk for STB. This study examined the prospective association between basal levels of inflammatory gene expression (average of 15 proinflammatory mRNA transcripts) and subsequent risk for suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior over a 12-month follow-up period.
Controlling for past levels of STB, greater proinflammatory gene expression was associated with prospective risk for STB in these youth. Similar effects were observed for CD14 mRNA level, a marker of monocyte abundance within the blood sample. Sensitivity analyses controlling for other relevant covariates, including history of trauma, depressive symptoms, and STB prior to data collection, yielded similar patterns of results.
Upregulated inflammatory signaling in the immune system is prospectively associated with STB among at-risk adolescent females, even after controlling for history of trauma, depressive symptoms, and STB prior to data collection. Additional research is needed to identify the sources of inflammatory up-regulation in adolescents (e.g., stress psychobiology, physiological development, microbial exposures) and strategies for mitigating such effects to reduce STB.
最近的理论认为炎症生物学与青少年精神病理学及适应不良行为的发展有关，包括自杀念头和行为（STB）。因此，有必要研究与炎症相关的特定生物标志物，以便更好地了解青少年STB的风险，自杀是该年龄段青少年的主要死因。
研究对象为211名有STB高风险的青春期女性（年龄9 - 14岁；平均年龄 = 11.8岁，标准差 = 1.8岁）。本研究考察了炎症基因表达基础水平（15种促炎mRNA转录本的平均值）与12个月随访期内自杀意念和自杀行为后续风险之间的前瞻性关联。
在控制既往STB水平后，这些青少年中促炎基因表达水平越高，STB的前瞻性风险越高。在血样中作为单核细胞丰度标志物的CD14 mRNA水平上也观察到了类似的效应。对包括创伤史、抑郁症状以及数据收集前的STB等其他相关协变量进行控制的敏感性分析，得出了相似的结果模式。
即使在控制了创伤史、抑郁症状以及数据收集前的STB之后，免疫系统中炎症信号上调仍与有风险的青春期女性的STB存在前瞻性关联。需要进一步研究以确定青少年炎症上调的来源（如应激心理生物学、生理发育、微生物暴露）以及减轻此类影响以降低STB的策略。
