Journal of Islamic International Medical College (Mar 2019)
The Association of Pro-inflammatory Markers with Suicidality in Patients Suffering from Major Depressive Episode
Abstract
Objective: To determine the association of pro-inflammatory markers with suicidality in patients suffering from major depressive episode. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at department of pathology in collaboration with the department of psychiatry, Pakistan Railway Hospital, Islamic International Medical College, Rawalpindi from th th 18 April, 2017 to 17 March, 2018. Materials and Methods: Seventy five subjects recruited through convenient non-probability sampling technique were divided into three groups i.e. Group 1 (patients of major depressive episode with suicidality), Group 2 (patients of major depressive episode without suicidality) and Group 3 included healthy controls.Patients of major depressive episode and suicidality were diagnosed through Hamilton rating scale for depression and beck scale for suicidal intention successively. Pro-inflammatory markers i.e. Interleukin-1ß, Interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein were measured in the serum of all participants. Data was analyzed through statistical package for social sciences version 21. Simple descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages) were computed for each categorical variable. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for the numerical data. Independent t test and one way ANOVA was applied to determine the statistical significance. P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 75 enrolled patients, Pro-inflammatory markers i.e. Interleukin-1ß, Interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein were raised in patients of major depressive episode with suicidality. Conclusion: Pro-inflammatory markers i.e. CRP, IL-1ß and IL-6 are markedly raised in patients of major depressive episode with suicidality. So, from the results it is concluded that pro-inflammatory markers have an association with suicidality in patients of major depressive episode and treating inflammation in them can improve their symptoms and reduce suicidal rate.
