The Association Between C-Reactive Protein Levels and Depression: Results from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study

• Published in: Biological psychiatry (1969) Vol. 60; no. 8; pp. 825 - 830
• Main Authors: Liukkonen, Timo, Silvennoinen-Kassinen, Sylvi, Jokelainen, Jari, Räsänen, Pirkko, Leinonen, Maija, Meyer-Rochow, V. Benno, Timonen, Markku
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 15.10.2006; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcohol Drinking - metabolism; Alcoholism - complications; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Pressure - physiology; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Cholesterol - blood; Cohort Studies; cohort study; Cross-Sectional Studies; CRP; Depression; Depressive Disorder - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder - metabolism; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Finland - epidemiology; gender; Humans; inflammation; Inflammation - physiopathology; Life Style; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Recurrence; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Smoking - metabolism; Europe; Finland; CRP; cohort study; depression; gender; inflammation; Mood disorder; Sex; Depression; Inflammation; Protein
• ISSN: 0006-3223; 1873-2402
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.02.016

To investigate whether depressive episodes (previous, current single, and recurrent) are associated in both genders with highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels, earlier recommended for risk assessment of cardiovascular disease. The impact of the severity of current single and recurrent depressive episodes on this putative association was also investigated. The genetically homogeneous Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort was followed until age 31, when, in a cross-sectional setting ( n = 5269), the highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay (hs-EIA) method was used to measure CRP concentration. Depressive episodes were defined through mailed questionnaires, including Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and information on self-reported, doctor-diagnosed depression. After adjusting for confounders, logistic regression analyses showed that in male subjects, elevated hs-CRP levels (≥1.0 mg/L) increased the probability for severe current and recurrent depressive episodes 1.7-fold and 3.1-fold, respectively. Correspondingly, an hs-CRP level of >3.0 mg/L increased the probability for recurrent depression up to 4.1-fold. In female subjects, no statistically significant associations were found. Our results support the hypothesis that an activation of systemic inflammatory processes may contribute to the pathophysiology of severe depression in men. Further investigations are needed regarding the impact of our findings on diagnostic/treatment strategies concerning severe and, especially recurrent, depression in men.