Can low brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels be a marker of the presence of depression in obese women?

Abstract

ObjectiveDepression is a common condition in obese women that can result in severe impairment of their physical and social functioning. A deficiency of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in the mechanism of depression. The aim of this study is to investigate whether BDNF levels differ between obese female patients and healthy controls and whether BDNF levels alter with affective states in depressive obese women.MethodsThe study group included 40 obese, 40 preobese, and 40 normal weight women. BDNF levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in patient and control groups. For identifying the depression and anxiety status, Beck Depression/Anxiety Inventories were used; and for the evaluation of cognitive functions, the mini-mental state examination was used.ResultsBDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients compared to the control group (P<0.01). BDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients with depression compared to the obese patients without depression (P<0.05). The Beck Depression Inventory showed a negative correlation with BDNF (r=−0.044; P<0.01) and a positive correlation with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (r=0.643; P<0.001), vitamin B12 levels (r=0.023; P<0.001), and insulin levels (r=0.257; P<0.05) in obese patients. When receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to analyze the suitability of BDNF to identify depression in obese women, the area under the curve for BDNF, 0.756, was found to be significant (P=0.025). BDNF levels lower than 70.2 pg/mL were associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms.ConclusionThe results of our study suggest that the decrease in BDNF levels can be used as a marker for depression diagnosis in obese patients.

Altered temporal sensitivity in obesity is linked to pro-inflammatory state

“…However, while the two groups shown different level of serum concentration of BDNF, such a difference did not emerge about S100B. The prominent role of the neurotrophin BDNF in survival, growth, and maintenance of neurons during development 43,44 also in pathological conditions (see Habtemariam, 2018 73 for a recent review) is well established, while it still need to be completely clarified its role in obesity; indeed we registered higher level of BNDF in our sample of individuals affected by obesity, respect to healthy-weight controls, and this result is in line with previous studies in the field 74,75 ; however, it should be noted that reduced level of circulating BDNF levels in individuals affected by obesity respect to controls 76,77 as well as no differences between the two groups 78 were also reported. Nevertheless, there is an overall consensus in suggesting the possible critical role of BDNF in obesity; altered BDNF production was found to be associated with weight loss and food behavior in experimental animal models 79–81 and in humans 82 .…”

Low Concentration of BDNF in the Acute Phase of Ischemic Stroke as a Factor in Poor Prognosis in Terms of Functional Status of Patients

“…It was found that the G196A polymorphism in the BDNF gene is associated with a higher probability of acute cerebrovascular incident [ 16 ]. Low concentrations of BDNF in the blood were observed in patients with risk factors for stroke, such as coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndrome, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and physical inactivity [ 17 – 19 ]. In the present study, significantly lower levels of BDNF were observed in patients over 65 years of age.…”

Association between Obesity and Circulating Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Levels: Systematic Review of Literature and Meta-Analysis

“…In this context, a significant reduction of circulating BDNF levels in obese subjects versus controls was found [ 28 , 29 ], suggesting a negative association between circulating BDNF and this pathology [ 11 , 19 ]. However, in the last few years this relationship was called into question.…”