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Inflammation may be associated with broader range of psychological distress

Levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein was associated with 18 general symptoms of psychological distress, and most associations remained positive after adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and chronic illnesses.

“The inflammatory marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein is associated with symptoms of depression,” Woojae Myung, MD, of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, and colleagues wrote. “A recent study reported that elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in the general population are associated with specific depressive symptoms of low energy, sleep disturbance, and appetite disturbance; however, common general psychological distress symptoms were not investigated.”

To assess associations between levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and general psychological distress symptoms, researchers combined data on urban (n = 144,312) and rural (n = 6,711) individuals from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study and individuals enrolled in the health check-up program at Samsung Medical Center (n = 63,014). The cohort included 214,037 ethnic Korean participants with a mean age of 52.3 years. Plasma levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were measured via standard procedures and general psychological distress symptoms were determined via an 18-item scale.

When adjusting for age and sex, all general psychological distress symptoms were positively associated with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

When adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI and chronic illnesses, the ability to start new work lost significance (OR = 1.008; 95% CI, 0.998-1.017).

When adjusting for age, sex, and the sum of other symptoms, only 7 items were positively associated with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, including feeling of well-being and health (OR = 1.08; 95% CI, 1.07-1.09), feeling refreshed after sleep (OR = 1.04; 95%CI, 1.03-1.06), loss of sleep because of worry (OR = 1.03; 95%CI, 1.01-1.04), ability to concentrate (OR = 1.02; 95% CI, 1-1.03), self-managing as well as most people would (OR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.05-1.17), restless and ill-tempered (OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05), and loss of self-confidence: (OR = 1.03; 95%CI, 1.01-1.05).

Further, ability to start new work (OR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.95-0.97) and ability to face problems (OR = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.98) were negatively associated with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

When adjusting for all other covariates, only 6 items remained positively associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, including feeling of well-being and health (OR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.05-1.09), feeling refreshed after sleep (OR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02-1.06), loss of sleep because of worry (OR = 1.02; 95% CI, 1-1.04), self-managing as well as most people would (OR = 1.1; 95% CI, 1.05-1.16), restless and ill-tempered (OR = 1.02; 95% CI, 1-1.04), and loss of self-confidence: (OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05).

“We found that levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were associated with all 18 general psychological distress symptoms items. Most of these associations were preserved after adjustment for smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and chronic illnesses. Moreover, we found that controlling for scores of all other symptoms substantially reduced the range of items associated with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein,” the researchers wrote. “These findings suggest that inflammation may have independent effects on only some of the individual general psychological distress symptoms items.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.