title: Association between depression and inflammation--differences by race and sex: the META-Health study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test whether the association between depression and inflammation differs by race and sex. Depressive symptoms have been associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). However, few studies have examined this association in samples including a significant number of African Americans, or examined whether the association differs by race and sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  Depressive symptoms and CRP were assessed in 512 African American and white participants, age 30 to 65 years, as part of the community-based Morehouse and Emory Team up to Eliminate Health Disparities (META-Health) Study. Depression was determined by responses to the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Multivariable linear regression models were used to adjust for demographic and metabolic risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  African American men had higher total BDI-II scores than white men (p = .03), whereas there was no difference in women. There was a significant race-sex-depression interaction in predicting CRP levels (p = .02). White women with mild to severe depressive symptoms had higher levels of CRP compared with those with minimal to no depressive symptoms (p < .05). There were no differences in levels of CRP by severity of depressive symptoms in white men or African Americans of either sex. Higher BDI-II scores were related to higher CRP levels in white women after adjusting for age and level of education (β = 0.227, p = .006). However, the association was eliminated after further adjustment for metabolic risk factors (β = 0.077, p = .35).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although depressive symptoms are associated with inflammation, the association varies by race and sex.
authors.affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. aamorr3@emory.edu
authors.forename: Alanna Amyre
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Neli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stoyanova
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Staercke
authors.forename: William Craig
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hooper
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Din-Dzietham
authors.forename: Arshed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quyyumi
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vaccarino
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein