Abstract：
BACKGROUND: Neurofilament light chain (NFL), a biomarker of neuroaxonal damage, has been linked to inflammation and depressive disorders, albeit with inconsistent results. We aimed to evaluate the association between serum NFL concentration and clinically relevant depressive symptoms in the general population and to examine the potential involvement of systemic inflammation in this association.
METHODS: The data of 1881 adults aged 20-75 years were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014 cycle. Serum NFL levels were quantified using a highly sensitive immunoassay. Further, markers of systemic inflammation, including systemic immune inflammation index (SII), system inflammation response index (SIRI), and white blood cell (WBC) counts were calculated based on whole blood cell counts. Clinically relevant depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) with a cut-off score of 10.
RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that each one-unit increase in ln-transformed serum NFL concentration was significantly associated with a 1.37-fold increase in the risk of clinically relevant depressive symptoms (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.06, 1.77; p = 0.017). Serum NFL level was significantly related to increased SII (regression coefficient [β] = 0.04, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.08; p = 0.027), SIRI (β = 0.09, 95%CI: 0.05, 0.14; p < 0.001), and WBC (β = 0.05, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.07; p < 0.001), respectively. These significant associations were observed only in elderly participants.
CONCLUSIONS: The cross-sectional study design is limited in causal inference.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that serum NFL levels are related to an increased risk of clinically relevant depressive symptoms and higher levels of markers of systemic inflammation.
METHODS: The data of 1881 adults aged 20-75 years were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014 cycle. Serum NFL levels were quantified using a highly sensitive immunoassay. Further, markers of systemic inflammation, including systemic immune inflammation index (SII), system inflammation response index (SIRI), and white blood cell (WBC) counts were calculated based on whole blood cell counts. Clinically relevant depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) with a cut-off score of 10.
RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that each one-unit increase in ln-transformed serum NFL concentration was significantly associated with a 1.37-fold increase in the risk of clinically relevant depressive symptoms (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.06, 1.77; p = 0.017). Serum NFL level was significantly related to increased SII (regression coefficient [β] = 0.04, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.08; p = 0.027), SIRI (β = 0.09, 95%CI: 0.05, 0.14; p < 0.001), and WBC (β = 0.05, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.07; p < 0.001), respectively. These significant associations were observed only in elderly participants.
CONCLUSIONS: The cross-sectional study design is limited in causal inference.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that serum NFL levels are related to an increased risk of clinically relevant depressive symptoms and higher levels of markers of systemic inflammation.
摘要：
背景：神经丝轻链（NFL），神经轴索损伤的生物标志物，与炎症和抑郁症有关，尽管结果不一致。我们旨在评估普通人群中血清NFL浓度与临床相关抑郁症状之间的关联，并检查全身性炎症在这种关联中的潜在参与。
方法：从2013-2014年国家健康与营养调查（NHANES）中提取了1881名20-75岁成年人的数据。使用高度敏感的免疫测定对血清NFL水平进行定量。Further,全身性炎症的标志物，包括全身免疫炎症指数（SII），系统炎症反应指数（SIRI），基于全血细胞计数计算白细胞(WBC)计数。使用9项患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）评估临床相关的抑郁症状，截止得分为10。
结果：在调整了潜在的混杂因素后，我们发现,ln转化血清NFL浓度每增加1个单位,与临床相关抑郁症状风险增加1.37倍显著相关(95%置信区间[CI]:1.06,1.77;p=0.017).血清NFL水平与SII升高显著相关(回归系数[β]=0.04,95CI:0.01,0.08;p=0.027),SIRI（β=0.09，95CI：0.05，0.14；p<0.001），和白细胞（β=0.05，95CI：0.03，0.07；p<0.001），分别。仅在老年参与者中观察到这些显着的关联。
结论：横断面研究设计在因果推断方面受到限制。
结论：我们的研究结果表明，血清NFL水平与临床相关抑郁症状的风险增加和系统性炎症标志物水平升高有关。
方法：从2013-2014年国家健康与营养调查（NHANES）中提取了1881名20-75岁成年人的数据。使用高度敏感的免疫测定对血清NFL水平进行定量。Further,全身性炎症的标志物，包括全身免疫炎症指数（SII），系统炎症反应指数（SIRI），基于全血细胞计数计算白细胞(WBC)计数。使用9项患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）评估临床相关的抑郁症状，截止得分为10。
结果：在调整了潜在的混杂因素后，我们发现,ln转化血清NFL浓度每增加1个单位,与临床相关抑郁症状风险增加1.37倍显著相关(95%置信区间[CI]:1.06,1.77;p=0.017).血清NFL水平与SII升高显著相关(回归系数[β]=0.04,95CI:0.01,0.08;p=0.027),SIRI（β=0.09，95CI：0.05，0.14；p<0.001），和白细胞（β=0.05，95CI：0.03，0.07；p<0.001），分别。仅在老年参与者中观察到这些显着的关联。
结论：横断面研究设计在因果推断方面受到限制。
结论：我们的研究结果表明，血清NFL水平与临床相关抑郁症状的风险增加和系统性炎症标志物水平升高有关。
