Comparison of advanced glycation end products concentration in the skin among patients with rheumatic diseases, with and without comorbid depression: a case–control study

• Published in: Rheumatology international 2023-10, Vol.43 (10), p.1829-1834
• Main Authors: Żuchowski, Paweł, Dura, Marta, Kaźmierczak, Karolina, Meder, Grzegorz, Waszczak-Jeka, Marzena, Jeka, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Observational Research; Rheumatic diseases; Rheumatology; Scleroderma; Skin
• ISSN: 1437-160X; 0172-8172; 1437-160X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00296-023-05393-4

Patients with rheumatic diseases suffer depression at a far greater rate than the general population. Aside from evident mental health degradation, in this group of patients depression can often lead to failures in the treatment of the basic disease. The aim of the study was to assess the concentration of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in the skin autofluorescence (SAF) exam in patients with select rheumatic diseases depending on depression concomitance. 139 patients with rheumatic diseases were enrolled into the study—43 (39F/4 M) patients with RA, 31 (24F/7 M) patients with PsA, 27 (22F/5 M) patients with SLE and 38 (33F/5 M) patients with SSc. In all patients, the concentration of AGE was assessed using the AGE Reader device (DiagnOptics BV Groningen, The Netherlands). The Beck Depression Inventory II was used to assess depression in the patients. Patients who scored 14 points or more in the BDI-II were diagnosed with depression. In the studied group, depression was identified in 73 (53%) patients—25 with RA, 21 with PsA, 11 with SLE and 16 with SSc. Mean SAF in patients with depression was 2.8 ± 0.4, and in the group with no depression—2.2 ± 0.5 ( p