ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2021
Longitudinal relationships of cytokines, depression and anhedonia in depressed adolescents.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inflammation and depression in young people: a systematic review and proposed inflammatory pathways.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Sustained effects of repeated levodopa (L-DOPA) administration on reward circuitry, effort-based motivation, and anhedonia in depressed patients with higher inflammation.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Trial
- Disruptions of p11 (S100A10) and HPA Axis Homeostasis Participate in the Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Especially in Female Patients.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Trial
- Functional connectivity in reward circuitry and symptoms of anhedonia as therapeutic targets in depression with high inflammation: evidence from a dopamine challenge study.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Building social and structural connections for the prevention of opioid use among youth experiencing homelessness: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Neural response to reward as a potential pathway from inflammation to anhedonia in adolescents at risk for depression.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Altered NK cell receptor profiles and immune-inflammatory markers in adolescent major depressive disorder: associations with cognitive impairment.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Basal Ganglia Dopamine Availability and Immune Activation Interact and Relate to Anhedonia Severity among Youth with Depression.Research square · 2026Article
- Associations between white matter lesions, adiposity, and systemic inflammation in late adulthood: Results from the IGNITE study.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- From Neural Circuits to Behavior: Examining the Central Role of Anhedonia in Major Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Associations between prenatal inflammation and dimensions of depressive symptoms across the perinatal period.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Suicide attempt predictors among adolescents exhibiting non-suicidal self-injury: A six-week follow-up open study.World journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- Association between cytokines and neuropsychiatric symptoms in paediatric narcolepsy patients: a cross-sectional study.BMC neurology · 2025Article
- Comparative analysis of the risk of severe bacterial infection and septicemia in adolescents and young adults with treatment-resistant depression and treatment-responsive depression - a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Observational
- A Systematic Review: Investigating Biomarkers of Anhedonia and Amotivation in Depression and Cannabis Use.JAACAP open · 2025Review
- Association Between Childhood Trauma and Anhedonia-Related Symptoms: The Mediation Role of Trait Anhedonia and Circulating Proteins.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Article
- Mechanism of N6-Methyladenosine Modification in the Pathogenesis of Depression.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- The characteristics of anhedonia in depression: a review from a clinically oriented perspective.Translational psychiatry · 2025Review
- Predictive factors and risk model for depression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a comprehensive analysis of comorbidities and clinical indicators.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- Early warning model for depression and anxiety among adolescent students: an empirical study based on Guilin.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDepression has been associated with low-grade elevation of plasma cytokines (e.g. interleukin-6, IL-6; tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNFα) in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in adults. Preclinical and clinical studies also suggest that IL-6 and TNFα elevation are associated with anhedonia. However, few studies have examined longitudinal relationships between cytokines and depression/anhedonia in clinically depressed samples, particularly adolescents.
methodsThirty-six adolescents with a depressive disorder receiving standard-of-care community treatment were assessed at a baseline and a follow-up timepoint. Self-report and clinical measures of depression and anhedonia, along with plasma IL-6 and TNFα levels, were obtained at both timepoints. Baseline cytokine measures were examined in association with baseline and follow-up clinical measures. On an exploratory basis, change in clinical measures over time was examined in relation to change in cytokine levels over time.
resultsHigher baseline TNFα levels predicted higher follow-up depression severity after approximately four months (controlling for baseline depression). Higher baseline TNFα levels also associated positively with baseline anhedonia and predicted higher anhedonia at follow-up (controlling for baseline anhedonia). No association was found between change in clinical measures and change in cytokine levels over time.
conclusionsAmong adolescents receiving standard-of-care community treatment for depression, higher levels of TNFα predicted greater depressive symptoms at 4-month follow-up, suggesting this cytokine may be used to help identify patients in need of more intensive treatment. Elevated TNFα levels were also associated with concurrent and future anhedonia symptoms, suggesting a specific mechanism in which TNFα affects depression trajectories. Future studies should examine the relationships between cytokine levels and depression/anhedonia symptoms at multiple timepoints in larger cohorts of depressed adolescents.
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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.