JAMA Psychiatry

Could inflammatory markers provide clues of future psychiatric risks?

September 4, 2024

In this cohort study, leukocytes, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and IgG levels were associated with an increased future risk of mental health conditions and could aid in pinpointing populations at high risk.

The study

• A total of 585,279 individuals (mean age, 45.5 years; 52.4% male) with no prior psychiatric diagnoses and ≥1 inflammatory biomarker from the Swedish Apolipoprotein Mortality Risk (AMORIS) cohort were evaluated to determine if there was an association between inflammation biomarkers and subsequent psychiatric disorders risk.
• Longitudinal trajectories of studied biomarkers were visualized before diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in the AMORIS cohort via a nested case-control study. Genetic correlation and mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were also conducted to determine genetic overlap and causality.

Key findings

• Individuals with leukocyte, haptoglobin, or CRP levels above the median had a higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.11, 1.13, and 1.02, respectively. Conversely, higher IgG levels are linked to a lower risk (HR, 0.92).
• Individuals with psychiatric disorders had higher levels of leukocytes and haptoglobin and a lower level of IgG than their controls up to 30 years before diagnosis. The MR analysis suggested a possible causal link between leukocytes and depression.

Source:

Zeng Y, et al. (2024, August 21). JAMA Psychiatry. Inflammatory Biomarkers and Risk of Psychiatric Disorders. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39167384