Teenage Depression Steered Inflammatory Proteins Vary in Boys and Girls

Individual inflammatory proteins called cytokines, released during depression, differ between adolescent boys and girls. For instance, cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) is associated with depression in boys and IL-6 in girls.

This new research was led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London ().

Inflammatory Markers Associated with Teenage Depression

When inflammation occurs in the body a host of proteins are released into the blood called cytokines. Previous research has shown that higher levels of cytokines are associated with depression in adults, but little is known about this relationship in adolescence.

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Researchers investigated sex differences in the relationship between inflammatory proteins and depression. Published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the study found that different cytokines were implicated in depression risk and severity in boys compared to girls.

To assess inflammation, researchers measured the blood cytokine levels in 75 adolescent boys and 75 adolescent girls (aged 14-16 years) from Brazil. The 150 participants had been recruited into three groups with equal numbers (50 participants in each group: 25 girls and 25 boys). The groups were those at low risk for depression and not depressed, those at high risk of depression and not depressed, and those currently experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD).

The findings indicated that there are sex differences between the individual inflammatory proteins that are associated with depression in adolescents. Higher levels of the cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) were associated with both increased risk for depression and the severity of depressive symptoms in boys, but not in girls.

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However, higher levels of IL-6 were associated with the severity of depression in girls, but not boys. In boys the levels of IL-2 were higher in the high-risk than the low-risk group and even higher in the group diagnosed with depression, indicating that in boys IL-2 levels in the blood could help indicate the onset of future depression.

Depression in Adolescents - Underlying Difference in Inflammatory Proteins

Dr Zuzanna Zajkowska, Postdoctoral Researcher at King’s IoPPN and first author of the study, said,

“We found that the severity of depressive symptoms was associated with increased levels of the cytokine interleukin-2 in boys, but interleukin-6 in girls. We know more adolescent girls develop depression than boys and that the disorder takes a different course depending on sex so we hope that our findings will enable us to better understand why there are these differences and ultimately help develop more targeted treatments for different biological sexes.”

Adolescent Depression
Adolescent depression is an ailment that occurs during the teenage characterized by persistent melancholy, disappointment and loss of self-esteem.

Researchers recruited adolescents from public schools in Brazil. The risk of depression was assessed by a composite risk score for depression based on 11 sociodemographic variables that had been developed as part of the IDEA project. Adolescents completed several questionnaires, self-reporting their emotional difficulties, relationships, experiences, and moods. They also completed a clinical assessment with a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Senior author on the study Professor Valeria Mondelli, Clinical Professor of Psychoneuroimmunology at King’s IoPPN and theme-lead for Psychosis and Mood Disorders at the NIHR Maudsley BRC, said,

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“Our findings suggest that inflammation and biological sex may have a combined contribution to the risk for depression. We know that adolescence is a key time when many mental disorders first develop and by identifying which inflammatory proteins are linked to depression and how this is different between boys and girls we hope that our findings can pave the way to understanding what happens at this critical time in life.”

Reference:

Sex-specific inflammatory markers of risk and presence of depression in adolescents - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016503272300890X)

Source: Eurekalert