Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41167074›Full record

ArticleJournal of psychiatric research2026

Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha as predictive biomarkers for depression and mania in young adults with depressive and bipolar disorder.

Shiyin Liu, Georga M Morgan-Fleming, Danielle M Denenny, Samantha J Frey, Michael R Irwin, David J Miklowitz, Tiffany C Ho

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of psychiatric research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shiyin LiuUCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA. Electronic address: shiyinliu@g.ucla.edu.
Georga M Morgan-FlemingDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Danielle M DenennyDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Samantha J FreyDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Michael R IrwinDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
David J MiklowitzDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Tiffany C HoUCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.

Funding

1/2-Early Intervention for Youth at Risk for Bipolar DisorderR01MH093676 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI MIKLOWITZ, DAVID JAY · 2012 to 2016
$3.6M
Doctoral Training in Brain and Behavioral Development During Adolescence (UCLA BBDA)T32HD091059 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Mirella Dapretto, ANDREW J FULIGNI · 2018 to 2026
$1.7M
Family-Focused Therapy for Youth with Early-Onset Bipolar or Psychotic Disorders R33MH097007 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI MIKLOWITZ, DAVID JAY · 2014 to 2016
$853k
NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD091059NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH093676NIMH NIH HHS R33 MH097007
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Inflammation has been increasingly implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders, yet the role of peripheral inflammatory markers in prospectively predicting symptom trajectories remains understudied, particularly in clinical populations. This study examined whether baseline levels and baseline to endpoint changes in inflammatory markers are associated with depressive and manic symptom trajectories in young adults (ages 18-25) with lifetime diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD). Of note, the sample did not include individuals in acute mania phase of BD (baseline YMRS = 4.89). 55 participants (47 females) underwent blood draws at baseline and endpoint and completed semi-weekly mood assessments throughout a six-month period. Linear mixed-effects models examined associations between C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and mood symptoms over time, adjusting for age, BMI, and gender. At baseline, IL-6 was positively associated with depressive symptom severity (β = 0.30, uncorrected p = .03) and predicted more persistent depressive symptoms over time (β = 0.09, uncorrected p = .03). Surprisingly, increases in IL-6 were associated with reductions in depressive symptom (β = -0.09, adjusted p = .03). Baseline TNF-α predicted decline in mania symptoms (β = -0.11, adjusted p = .04) and increases in TNF-α were associated with reduced mania severity over six months (β = -0.32, uncorrected p = .04). These findings suggest that IL-6 and TNF-α may differentially relate to depression and mania and underscore the clinical potential of inflammatory markers in identifying individuals at risk for persistent mood symptoms. This hypothesis-generating study will inform future research focused on replication with denser inflammation sampling and larger, more diverse samples of young adult clinical populations.

Indexed as

Bipolar DisorderInterleukin-6Major Depressive DisorderManiaTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaAdolescentAdultBiomarkersC-Reactive ProteinFemaleHumansMaleYoung AdultBiomarkersC-Reactive ProteinIL6 protein, humanInterleukin-6Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Identifiers

PMID41167074
PMCPMC13180435

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.