Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) in patients with psoriasis: Increased serum TARC levels in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis.

Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is designated as a T-helper 2-type chemokine and its expression is upregulated in patients with atopic dermatitis. Previous studies reported that serum TARC levels in patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) were comparable with those in healthy controls. However, the association of clinical severity of psoriasis with serum TARC levels and serum TARC levels in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) have never been reported. We investigated the association of serum TARC level with psoriasis by the type of psoriasis, and examine correlations of serum TARC levels with clinical severity scores and other results of blood tests. Data on 75 patients (51 men and 24 women; PsV, 30 patients; PsA, 29 patients; GPP, 16 patients) were analyzed. The serum TARC level was significantly higher in patients with GPP than in patients with PsV and patients with PsA. There was a positive correlation between serum TARC level and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (r = 0.3499, P = 0.0030). The serum TARC levels decreased after treatment in GPP patients. Our study revealed that the serum TARC level can potentially be one of the biomarkers reflecting the severity or systemic inflammation caused by psoriasis in patients with psoriasis, although not as much as in patients with atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, serum TARC levels were high in patients with GPP. Those were decreased by treatment, suggesting that serum TARC levels could be utilized as an objective biomarker to evaluate a therapeutic effect in individual GPP patients. Further accumulation of cases and further research are needed to elucidate the role of TARC in psoriasis.

Insomnia affects future development of depression in workers: a 6-year cohort study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between insomnia and future risk of developing depression. This was a 6-year cohort survey from 2011 to 2017. A questionnaire was conducted with male workers in a manufacturing industry. The questions included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for evaluating depression and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) for rating insomnia. Data from 1,332 daytime workers aged less than 60 years who had no depressive symptoms at baseline were analyzed. The risk of developing depression in the future was associated with insomnia at baseline, after adjusting for age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.64). Even after adjusting for the covariances of job type, living with family, sleeping time, and undergoing treatment or taking medication, insomnia was associated with the onset of future depression (HR 1.58). In addition, the HR increased as the total AIS score increased: total AIS score 1-3 points (HR 1.99; 95% CI 1.23-3.22), 4-5 points (HR 3.58; 95% CI 2.18-5.89), and 6 points and above (HR 4.24; 95% CI 2.49-7.21). The risk of developing depression in the future increased in correlation with greater severity of insomnia at baseline, suggesting that even slight insomnia can be a risk of future developing depression. It may be important to measure the level of insomnia using an indicator such as AIS, and to improve sleep quality in workers to prevent depression.

Insomnia and depression: risk factors for development of depression in male Japanese workers during 2011-2013.

OBJECTIVES: This 3-year cohort study was conducted to investigate the relation between insomnia and development of depression in male workers, and to clarify the association between the severity of insomnia and the onset of depression. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaire surveys on depression and insomnia were conducted on male workers for 3 years. Depression was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and insomnia was examined using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). The analysis was done with 840 men who had no depression at baseline. RESULTS: Depression symptoms were newly found in 113 men during this study. Cox regression analyses showed that people with insomnia (AIS score of ≥ 1) at baseline had about a 7 times greater risk for onset of depression. Furthermore, compared with those with AIS score of 0 (no insomnia), people with AIS score of 1-3 had a 5.2-fold greater risk of depression and those with a score of 4 or higher indicated about tenfold greater risk. CONCLUSIONS: A new finding was that the risk for onset of depression increased with the severity of insomnia.

[Factors associated with depressive symptoms in blue-collar and white-collar male workers].

OBJECTIVES: Mental disorders are increasing and their influence on productivity is a concern in the workplace. However, few studies have investigated depression among blue-collar and white-collar workers in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this study was to clarify the factors associated with depressive symptoms, focusing on lifestyles and insomnia. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted of 1,963 workers at an annual health checkup in a manufacturing company. Of the 1,712 respondents (response rate: 87%), 1,258 male worker subjects (blue-collar 674; white-collar 584) were analyzed after excluding those with mental diseases. The questionnaire included items on basic attributes and lifestyle. The Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and The Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Scale (CES-D) were used to evaluate insomnia and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The incidence of depressive symptoms with CES-D scores of ≥16 was 15.1% in both the blue-collar and the white-collar workers. Insomnia with AIS scores of ≥6 were encountered in 18.8% of the blue-collar workers and 18.3% of the white-collar workers. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that for the blue-collar workers, depressive symptoms were associated with "AIS scores ≥6" (Odds ratio (OR): 10.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.12-19.15), "not get rid of fatigue with sleep" (OR: 3.36; 95%CI: 1.85-6.09), "skip breakfast over 3 times a week" (OR: 3.10; 95%CI:1.42-6.76), "no family living together" (OR: 2.08; 95%CI: 1.05-4.12), and "commuting time" (OR: 1.01; 95%CI: 1.00-1.02). For the white-collar workers, depressive symptoms were related to "AIS scores ≥6" (OR: 14.91; 95%CI: 7.54-29.49), and "no family living together" (OR: 2.54; 95%CI: 1.27-5.09). Sleep time was not associated with depression in both blue- and white-collar workers. Depressive symptoms were found in 51.6% of the blue-collar workers with insomnia with AIS scores ≥6 and 53.8% of white-collar workers. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms were found at the same prevalence rate in both blue-collar and white-collar workers, which suggests that health measures for depression are necessary for both types of worker. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with insomnia. Health advice focusing on insomnia as well as lifestyle may be important for workers.