Better understanding of c-reactive protein and leukocytes in psychiatric inpatients with affective disorders: A biopsychosocial approach

Abstract

BACKGROUND Affective disorders (AD) have been linked to inflammatory processes, although the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are still not fully elucidated. It is hypothesized that demographic, somatic, lifestyle, and personality variables predict inflammatory parameters in AD. AIM To identify biopsychosocial factors contributing to inflammation in AD measured with two parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocytes. METHODS This observational study investigated 186 hospital inpatients diagnosed with AD using demographic parameters, serum inflammatory markers, somatic variables, psychological questionnaires, and lifestyle parameters. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to predict inflammatory markers from demographic, somatic, lifestyle, and personality variables. RESULTS Analyses showed that 33.8% of the variance of CRP was explained by body mass index and other somatic medication (e.g. anti-diabetics), age and education, and age of affective disorder diagnosis. For leukocytes, 20.1% of the variance was explained by smoking, diet, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and anti-inflammatory medication (e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Other psychiatric or behavioural variables did not reach significance. CONCLUSION Metabolic components seem important, with mounting evidence for a metabolic affective disorder subtype. Lifestyle modifications and psychoeducation should be employed to prevent or treat MetS in AD.