Association of inflammation markers in young adult patients with Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Sammanfattning: Background: Previous studies have shown that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have elevated interleukin and chemokine levels in plasma. The purpose of this study was to investigate and validate whether a group of cytokines and chemokines are elevated in a cohort of young adult OCD patients. Methods: A total of 43 patients (11 male/32 female) and 45 controls (15 male/30 female) with OCD were included in the study. The subjects were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders- Clinical Version or Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The control group was screened with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Proximity extension assay (PEA) was used to measure plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8, MIP-1α, and IL-10. Results: A factor analysis for the cytokines was performed and logistic regression analysis revealed that the cytokines as a group have a significant association for OCD (P=0.031, OR: 2.2) and IL-8 was the cytokine with the highest significance (P=0.007) for the patient group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that this group of cytokines are associated with OCD diagnosis and strengthens previous findings of immune activity in the etiology of OCD. Therefore cytokines and chemokines could have an active role in the etiology of OCD and PEA could be useful in the search for biomarkers.