An Association Between the Inflammatory Biomarker GlycA and Depressive Symptom Severity

Objective The underlying mechanisms of depression remain unclear; however, current literature suggests a relationship between inflammation and depression. The association between the inflammatory biomarker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and depression has been previously investigated, but the relationship between GlycA, a novel spectroscopic inflammatory biomarker, and depression does not appear to have been examined. Methods Data were obtained from The Dallas Heart Study (DHS, conducted between 2000 and 2002), which consisted of a large community-based sample of Dallas County residents (N = 3,033). Depressive symptom severity was assessed with the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report (QIDS-SR). It was hypothesized that the serum GlycA level would be a statistically significant predictor of QIDS-SR scores after control for demographic covariates. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the relationship between GlycA level and QIDS-SR scores. The role of hs-CRP in predicting QIDS-SR scores was also explored. Results GlycA level was a statistically significant positive predictor of QIDS-SR score (β = .053, P = .038) with control for sex, age, antidepressant use, ethnicity, smoking status, drinking status, body mass index, and years of education. In a subset of adults with moderate-to-severe depression, GlycA level was not associated with QIDS-SR scores. Additionally, hs-CRP level was not a statistically significant predictor of QIDS-SR scores. Conclusions This study found a positive association between the inflammatory biomarker GlycA, but not hs-CRP, and depressive symptom severity in a large multiethnic and multiracial community-based sample. Thus, these results provide the first indication that GlycA may be a potentially useful novel biomarker of depression.