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Association between elevated plasma fibrinogen and psychological distress, and depression in 73 367 individuals from the general population

Molecular Psychiatry volume 18, pages 854–855 (2013)Cite this article

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Low-grade inflammation possibly has a role in the development of depression through inhibition of the production of serotonin.1 Previous studies show an association between depression and elevated acute phase proteins such as fibrinogen,2, 3 but results are conflicting.4, 5, 6 Furthermore, the association between depression and inflammatory markers may be confounded by health behaviors, for example, smoking, physical activity and body mass index, as well as by chronic disease.7, 8, 9, 10 We tested the hypothesis that elevated plasma fibrinogen levels are associated with psychological distress and depression after adjustment for possible confounders.

We included 73 367 men and women aged 20–100 years from two independent population-based studies, the Copenhagen General Population Study and the Copenhagen City Heart Study. At the day of attendance, participants gave information about their level of physical activity and smoking status, and body mass index was measured. Blood samples were drawn and fibrinogen measured using a calorimetric or a turbidimetry method (Boehringer Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany or Instrumentation Laboratory, Milano, Italy). Symptoms of psychological distress were ascertained as confirmative answers to one or more of the three questions (‘Do you have the feeling that you have not accomplished very much recently?’, ‘Do you feel like giving up?’, and ‘Do you often feel nervous or stressed?’). Depression was ascertained in three different ways: First, self-reported use of antidepressant medication was ascertained as a confirmative answer to the question ‘Do you daily (or most days) use antidepressants, sedatives or relaxing pills?’. Second, because antidepressant medication can only be obtained by prescription in Denmark, we collected information about all such prescriptions claimed by study participants for at least 6 continuous months from 1994 through 2009 from the Danish Register of Medicinal Product Statistics. Third, diagnoses of depression were obtained from the Danish Patient Registry, which has information on all hospital discharge diagnoses. Depression was classified according to the International Classification of Diseases Eight Edition (ICD8) codes 296.0, 296.2, 298.0 and 300.4 until 1994, and Tenth Edition (ICD10) codes F32 and F33 from 1994 through 2010. Diagnoses of chronic disease were obtained from the Danish Patient Registry and included ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark

    M K Wium-Andersen, D D Ørsted & B G Nordestgaard

  2. The Copenhagen General Population Study, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark

    M K Wium-Andersen, D D Ørsted & B G Nordestgaard

  3. Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    M K Wium-Andersen, D D Ørsted & B G Nordestgaard

  4. The Copenhagen City Heart Study, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    B G Nordestgaard

Authors
  1. M K Wium-Andersen
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  2. D D Ørsted
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  3. B G Nordestgaard
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Correspondence to B G Nordestgaard.

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Wium-Andersen, M., Ørsted, D. & Nordestgaard, B. Association between elevated plasma fibrinogen and psychological distress, and depression in 73 367 individuals from the general population. Mol Psychiatry 18, 854–855 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2012.129

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