RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Our study sought to investigate the clinical influencing factors of psoriasis patients with depression, and analyze whether the content of monoamine neurotransmitters in plasma was correlated with depression incidence among psoriasis patients. METHODS: Ninety patients with psoriasis and 40 healthy volunteers (aged from18 to 60) were recruited and interviewed with a piloted questionnaire in both groups to obtain relevant information. The catecholamine in plasma from the two groups was analyzed by radioimmunoassay. The data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software. RESULTS: The mean Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and mean Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) scores of the psoriasis patients were higher than the control group. Dopamine content in the plasma was lower (comparing psoriasis patients without depression and the control group, and was negatively correlated with HAMD, AIS, and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores in the psoriasis patients with depression. There was no significant difference in the epinephrine and norepinephrine contents in all groups. PASI scores were positively correlated with HAMD scores in psoriasis patients. The low dopamine content, Dermatology Life Quality Index, and high PASI scores were the risk factors for depression among the psoriasis patients. CONCLUSION: Psoriasis patients have a significantly higher risk of depression than healthy people, and higher PASI scores were linked to a higher incidence of depression. The dopamine levels of patients were influenced by both psoriasis and depression. The risk factors for depression in psoriasis patients are low dopamine levels in the plasma, severe skin lesions, and lower quality of life.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the proteins that contributes to the survival, growth, maintenance of neurons, and plays important roles in the pathophysiology of depression. It has been reported that depression is closely associated with the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris disease. But, there is no report of serum BDNF levels in patients with acne vulgaris. The study aimed to determine the potential association between BDNF and depressive symptoms in young adults with acne vulgaris. METHODS: In this analytical cross-sectional study, the serum BDNF levels were measured in peripheral blood samples of 20 consecutive acne vulgaris patients with depression and 98 consecutive acne vulgaris patients without depression and also compared it with a 59 healthy control group by using a ELISA. The potential correlation between the BDNF levels, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and depressive symptoms such as nine-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Athens insomnia scale (AIS) were evaluated with multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Our results showed that levels of BDNF expression were lower in consecutive acne vulgaris patients when compared with healthy control (P < 0.05). There was a negative correlation between levels of BDNF and the PHQ-9 scores (r = - 0.486, P < 0.001). Furthermore, acne vulgaris patients with depression showed lower serum BDNF levels (10.96 ± 2.12 ng/ml) compared with acne vulgaris patients without depression (13.85 ± 2.47 ng/ml), as well as with healthy control (14.35 ± 2.70 ng/mg; both P < 0.05). No difference was found in serum BDNF levels between healthy control and acne vulgaris patients without depressive symptoms (z = 0.964, P > 0.05). Similarly, the overall area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic was 0.82, indicating the highly conserving of serum BDNF levels as an biomarker for screening of depression in young adults with acne vulgaris (72% sensitivity and 85% specificity). CONCLUSION: Serum BDNF levels were decreased and negatively associated with depressive symptoms in young Chinese adults with acne vulgaris.