C-Reactive Protein and TGF-α Predict Psychological Distress at Two Years of Follow-Up in Healthy Adolescent Boys: The Fit Futures Study

• Published in: Frontiers in psychology 2022-03, Vol.13, p.823420-823420
• Main Authors: Linkas, Jonas, Ahmed, Luai Awad, Csifcsak, Gabor, Emaus, Nina, Furberg, Anne-Sofie, Grimnes, Guri, Pettersen, Gunn, Rognmo, Kamilla, Christoffersen, Tore
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adolescence; anxiety symptoms; depressive symptoms; inflammatory markers; psychological distress; Psychology
• ISSN: 1664-1078; 1664-1078
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.823420

The scarcity of research on associations between inflammatory markers and symptoms of depression and anxiety during adolescence has yielded inconsistent results. Further, not all studies have controlled for potential confounders. We explored the associations between baseline inflammatory markers and psychological distress including moderators at follow-up in a Norwegian adolescent population sample. Data was derived from 373 girls and 294 boys aged 15-18 years at baseline, in the Fit Futures Study, a large-scale 2-year follow-up study on adolescent health. Baseline data was gathered from 2010 to 2011 and follow-up data from 2012 to 2013. Psychological distress was measured with Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-10). Serum levels of the following inflammatory markers were measured: C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α), Tumor necrosis factor alpha variant 1 (TRANCE), and variant 2 (TWEAK). Independent associations between baseline inflammatory markers and HSCL-10 at follow-up were explored by linear regressions, in sex-stratified analyses. In girls, analyses showed positive associations between all inflammatory markers and HSCL-10, except for TRANCE. However, all associations were non-significant in crude as well as in adjusted analyses. In boys, CRP (  = 0.03) and TGF-α (