Positive Association Between Serum Levels of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Depression/Anxiety in Female, but Not Male, Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Purpose: Patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) have increased risk of depression and anxiety. Evidence suggests that a heightened inflammatory state may contribute to this association. Females experience more depression and higher inflammation levels than males. This study compared associations of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels with symptoms of depression and anxiety between men and women with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Method: Cross-sectional data including demographic and disease characteristics, symptoms of depression and anxiety, clinical data, and laboratory values were collected from 392 patients with T2DM recruited from a general hospital in Shandong Province, China. We evaluated associations between serum hs-CRP level and symptoms of depression and anxiety in males and females separately using multiple linear regressions and χ tests for trend.

Results: Sex moderated the association between serum hs-CRP level and symptoms of depression ( = .112 [ = 0.049]; = .022) and anxiety ( = .137 [ = 0.053]; = .011). Among females, hs-CRP level was positively associated with depression ( = .034, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [.006, .061]; = .016, false discovery rate [FDR]-adjusted = .020) and anxiety ( = .041, 95% CI [.011, .071], = .007, FDR-adjusted = .007). Positive trends indicated a higher prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety in higher serum hs-CRP categories in females. No associations were found in males.

Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that associations between serum hs-CRP level and symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with T2D are sex-specific, with only females demonstrating a significant positive association.