Influence of MnSOD Val16Ala Polymorphism on Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Factors in College Students With Depressive Symptoms.

Depression is a disorder that affects people's quality of life and its main characteristic is loss of interest. Symptoms can occur at any stage of the life cycle, including in the academic environment. In addition to the influence of the environment in which they are inserted, genetic factors such as the presence of polymorphic variants in certain genes, as well as the inflammatory process, can be related to depression, affecting its onset, progression and treatment. Thus, the aim of the study was to investigate the role of Val16Ala polymorphism in relation to depressive symptoms in university students according to the DASS-21 scale, and whether or not it has the capacity to accentuate symptoms through inflammatory processes. In this study, 244 university students were recruited, who self-completed the DASS-21, anthropometric measurements and biological material were collected, and through the DASS-21 they were classified into two groups, depressed and non-depressed. Our results showed differences between anthropometric markers in depressed and non-depressed women; there were differences between leptin, hsCRP and IL1B. In addition to the biological markers measured, there were significant differences in relation to the students' lifestyle, such as physical activity and sleep quality. Taking into account the polymorphism, it is possible to observe that it was not related to depressive symptoms, inflammatory and antioxidant processes, however, nitrite levels and female gender were independent risk factors for depression.