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Research Shows Link Between White Blood Cell Count and Depression
There is an association between depression polygenic scores and white blood cell (WBC) count, according to new research published in JAMA Psychiatry.
“Although depression is a common psychiatric disorder, its underlying biological basis remains poorly understood. Pairing depression polygenic scores with the results of clinical laboratory tests can reveal biological processes involved in depression etiology and in the physiological changes resulting from depression,” wrote Julia M. Sealock, BSc, Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, and co-researchers.
Through this genetic association study, Dr Sealock et al aimed to determine whether inflammatory biomarkers—specifically increased WBC count—are associated with genes known to increase predisposition to depression.
Data on a total of 382,452 patients from 4 healthcare systems were analyzed. A separate analysis was conducted at each healthcare system and meta-analyzed across all 4 systems between May 19, 2019, and June 5, 2021. The primary analysis was conducted at Vanderbilt University Medical Center while additional replication analyses were conducted at 3 other health care institutions.
The main outcome was WBC count, and all patients with genetic data and WBC count measurements were included in the study.
Depression polygenic scores were associated with 4 immune markers: WBC, urinary WBC count, absolute monocyte count, and absolute neutrophil count.
Results from mediation analyses showed that the WBC count accounted for 2.5% of the link between depression polygenic scores and depression diagnosis, suggesting a bidirectional association. Furthermore, depression diagnosis accounted for 9.8% of the association of depression polygenic scores with WBC count.
“This genetic association study found that increased depression polygenic scores were associated with increased [WBC] count, and suggests that this association may be bidirectional. These findings highlight the potential importance of the immune system in the etiology of depression and may motivate future development of clinical biomarkers and targeted treatment options for depression,” concluded Sealock et al.
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