Relationships between inflammatory markers and suicide risk status in major depression
Abstract
Pro-inflammatory status has been implicated in depression and suicidal behaviors. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and cytokines, two types of inflammatory biomarkers, have been associated with suicide, independent of depression severity. How these biomarkers relate to each other is less clear. We measured plasma phospholipid levels of arachidonic acid (AA%), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA%), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA%) as a percentage of total phospholipids, as well as serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), in 80 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 24 healthy controls (HC). Individual PUFA and cytokine species were compared using ANOVA across four suicide risk-stratified groups: 1) highest-risk, recent (within 5 years) suicide attempters (n = 20); 2) high-risk, severe current suicidal ideators (having intent or plan) with no recent attempt history (n = 22); 3) low-risk, current non-ideators who were also lifetime non-attempters (n = 38); and 4) HC (n = 24). None of the participants were enrolled following an acute suicide attempt. Of biomarkers studied, only DHA% (p = 0.012) and IL-1β (p = 0.002) differed between groups. In post-hoc testing, DHA% was lower in attempters than ideators (p = 0.018) or MDD non-ideators (trend level, p = 0.073). IL-1β was lowest in attempters, differentiating them from ideators (p = 0.009) and HC (p = 0.004). Recent suicide attempt, one of the most powerful predictors of suicide…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 80 participants or records.
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