Associations of decreased serum total protein, albumin, and globulin with depressive severity of schizophrenia

Abstract

ObjectiveDepression and schizophrenia (SCH) were accompanied by an acute phase response (APR) that was implicated in the alterations in total protein (TP), albumin, and globulin levels. The aims of this study are to examine serum TP, albumin, globulin levels, depressive symptoms, and their associations in patients with SCH.MethodsWe recruited 34 patients with SCH and 136 healthy controls (HCs) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Psychiatric symptoms and biomarkers were assessed using the Chinese version of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) as well as the bromocresol green and biuret methods.ResultsSerum TP (F = 46.11, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.19), albumin (F = 31.69, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.14), and globulin (F = 12.48, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.06) levels were lower in patients than those in HCs after adjusting for covariates. Serum TP (r = −0.37, p = 0.03) and albumin (r = −0.37, p = 0.03) levels were negatively correlated with depressive score in patients. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed the negative associations of depressive score with serum TP (β = −0.13, t = −2.92, p = 0.007), albumin (β = −0.23, t = −2.36, p = 0.03), and globulin (β = −0.16, t = −2.40, p = 0.02) levels in patients. Serum TP, albumin, and globulin levels exhibited the accuracies of 87.1, 70.0, and 69.4% in discriminating between patients and HCs (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.78, 0.68, and 0.77; sensitivity/specificity: 52.9%/95.6%, 55.9%/73.5%, and 76.5%/67.6%).ConclusionOur data suggested that decreased serum TP, albumin, and globulin should be regarded as the SCH risk factors and were implicated in the depressive severity of SCH, which further provided the support for the hypothesis that SCH and depression were accompanied by the abnormal inflammatory cytokines with the APR.

Associations between liver function and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease pathology in non‐demented adults: The CABLE study

“…The A/G ratio (the ratio between these two proteins) is an important indicator of human health. Decreased TP, Alb, and GLO levels are also risk factors for the onset of schizophrenia and depression, further indicating that these markers may reflect altered brain health status (Van Hunsel et al., 1996; Yin et al., 2022). Thus, liver function can reflect the immune capacity of the liver, oxidative damage, the inflammatory state of the body, and the ability to synthesize and store proteins, which are risk factors that may contribute to AD development (Garcia‐Martinez et al., 2013; Long & Holtzman, 2019).…”

Identification of Potential Protein Biomarkers in a Depressed Chinese Malaysian University Student Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

“…For example, serum S100B was found to be lower in medicated young patients, compared with those who were drug-free, and healthy controls [7]. In addition, decreased serum total proteins, albumin, and globulin were found to be associated with depressive severity in schizophrenia [8]. In a recent study conducted among Chinese older adults, higher levels of immunoglobulin A, lower levels immunoglobulin M and complement C3 were found in depressed group [9].…”