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Association between longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms and plasma fibrinogen levels in school teachers |
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| Authors: | Roland Von Kä nel,Silja Bellingrath, Brigitte M. Kudielka |
| Affiliation: | Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany; Department of Theoretical and Clinical Psychobiology, Graduate School of Psychobiology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany |
| Abstract: | Depression and anxiety previously predicted coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. Inflammation contributes to CAD and shows an association with depression. We followed 57 teachers (mean 49±8 years) over 21 months and investigated whether changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms relate to those in the CAD risk and inflammation marker fibrinogen and vice versa. Increase in depressive symptoms and in fibrinogen levels were significantly correlated. While controlling for baseline depression rendered the association between changes in depression and fibrinogen nonsignificant, taking into account baseline fibrinogen levels maintained the predictive value of fibrinogen change for depression change. Anxiety and fibrinogen changes were not significantly correlated. This dynamic relationship between depression and the inflammatory biomarker fibrinogen might advance our knowledge about psychobiological mechanisms underlying both CAD and sickness behavior. |
| Keywords: | Anxiety Blood coagulation Cardiovascular disease Depression Inflammation |