Comorbidity between depression and asthma via immune-inflammatory pathways: a meta-analysis
Abstract
Background Depression is often present in patients with asthma and vice versa. In this review, we aimed to summarize reports on the comorbidity of depression and asthma, and to seek evidence that the biological mechanisms of allergy may have an important role linking asthma and depression. Method To explore the relationship and pathway underpinning this comorbidity, we reviewed medical articles and undertook a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies on (i) incidence of asthma in patients with depression; (ii) morbidity of depression in patients with asthma; (iii) concentration of cytokines in depressed subjects. Results High level of comorbidity of asthma and depression was consistently demonstrated in 10 studies of patients with asthma and four studies of patients with depression. In search of biological connection of the two illnesses, thirty-eight studies were included for Meta-analyses examining differences in allergy related cytokines between patients with depression and non-depressive subjects. In people with depression, concentration of monocytes related cytokines such as IL-1 (1.56ng/mL, 95% CI: 0.00-3.12, p=0.05) was significantly higher than that in non-depressive control subjects. At the same time, some other inflammatory factors including IL-4 (5.77pg/mL, 95% CI: 2.34-9.21, p=0.00010), IL-6 (1.44ng/mL, 95% CI: 1.05-1.82, p Conclusions The varying levels of certain cytokines play an important role in arousing and remitting asthma and depression. That suggests infl…
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Lifestyle-related factors are unlikely to be the only explanations for poor physical health outcomes in people with mental illness.
“Although important, lifestyle-related factors are unlikely to be the only explanations for poor physical health outcomes in people with mental illness.25”
From The Lancet Psychiatry Commission: a blueprint for protecting physical health in people with mental illness (2019) · cites this paper as [25]
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- Authors
- Jiang, M., Qin, P., & Yang, X.
- Affiliations
- Central China Normal University (CN)
- University of Oslo (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Yang, Xu
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-09
- Volume
- 166
- Pages
- 22-29
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1966443720
- Cited by
- 146
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science and Technology (2010DFA31790)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (51136002)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- depression, asthma, comorbidities, cytokines, inflammation, interleukin-1, IL-4, interleukin-6, TNF-α, interferon-gamma, IL-10, monocytes, T cells
- MeSH terms
- Asthma, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Comorbidity, Cytokines
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