ArticleJournal of psychosomatic research2017
Sleep disturbance and kynurenine metabolism in depression.
Article in Journal of psychosomatic research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- A sum of its parts: A systematic review evaluating biopsychosocial and behavioral determinants of perinatal depression.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Peripheral Inflammatory Markers in Subtypes and Core Features of Depression: A Systematized Review.Psychopathology · 2023Pooled it
- The kynurenine pathway in major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of 101 studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Systematic Review of the Kynurenine Pathway and Psychoneurological Symptoms Among Adult Cancer Survivors.Biological research for nursing · 2020Pooled it
- The risk factors for depression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019Pooled it
- Dietary Tryptophan Allocation in Depression: Serotonin-Kynurenine Balance, Microbial Indole Pathways, and Inflammatory Phenotypes.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Kynurenine pathway metabolites are increased in inflammatory depression and decrease with omega-3 treatment.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Development and Validation of Machine Learning-Based Models for Predicting Postoperative Depression Risk in Patients With Ovarian Cancer.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Contextual Regulation of the Kynurenine Pathway and Its Relevance for Personalized Psychiatry.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Acute Sleep Deprivation and the Autoimmune TLR-BANK1 Pathway: Interplay with Gender and Emotional State.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Neurochemical Insights into the Role of Tryptophan Metabolites and Kynurenine Pathway in Insomnia and its Psychological and Neurological Comorbidities.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Integrating serum pharmacochemistry with network pharmacology and pharmacological validation to elucidate the mechanism of KaiXinSan in treating insomnia.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- Astrogliosis Occurs Selectively in Amygdala of Adolescent Primate and Rodent Following Daily ΔBiological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- Alterations in gut microbiota and metabolites contribute to postoperative sleep disturbances.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2025Article
- Toxoplasma gondii, suicidal behaviour and suicide risk factors in US Veterans enrolled in mental health treatment.Folia parasitologica · 2025Article
- Egg consumption, sleep, and mental health status among women with type II diabetes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Pathogenesis of HIV-associated depression: contributing factors and underlying mechanisms.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- The association between salivary IL-6 and poor sleep quality assessed using Apple watches in stressed workers in Japan.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Changes in tryptophan breakdown associated with response to multimodal treatment in depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- A sum of its parts: A systematic review evaluating biopsychosocial and behavioral determinants of perinatal depression.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveAlthough the interrelationships between sleep disturbance, inflammation, and depression have been found, molecular mechanisms that link these conditions are largely unknown. Kynurenine metabolism is hypothesized to be a key mechanism that links inflammation and depression. Inflammation activates the kynurenine pathway, leading to increases in 3-hydroxykynurenine (3HK) and quinolinic acid (QA), potentially neurotoxic metabolites, and decreases in kynurenic acid (KynA), a potentially neuroprotective compound. This relative neurotoxic shift in the balance of kynurenine metabolites has been associated with depression, but never been examined regarding sleep disturbance. We tested the association between sleep disturbance and this relative neurotoxic shift in 68 currently depressed, 26 previously depressed, and 66 never depressed subjects.
methodsSleep disturbance was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Serum concentrations of kynurenine metabolites were measured using high performance liquid chromatography. Putative neuroprotective indices reflecting the relative activity of neuroprotective and neurotoxic kynurenine metabolites were calculated as KynA/QA and KynA/3HK (primary outcomes).
resultsSleep disturbance was associated with reduced KynA/QA in the currently depressed group only (unadjusted beta -0.43, p<0.001). This association remained significant even after controlling for age, sex, analysis batch, body-mass index, and depressive symptoms in currently depressed subjects (adjusted beta -0.30, p=0.02). There was no significant association between sleep disturbance and KynA/3HK in any of the groups. Sleep disturbance was associated with increased C-reactive protein in currently depressed subjects only (unadjusted beta 0.38, p=0.007; adjusted beta 0.33, p=0.02).
conclusionThese data support the hypothesis that altered kynurenine metabolism may molecularly link sleep disturbance and depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.