Table 1.
Demographic Characteristics and Levels of NfL and Proinflammatory Cytokines Between Patients With Major Depressive Disorder and Controls
| Patients with major depressive disorder (n = 40) | Control group (n = 40) |
P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y, SD) | 28.25 (14.35) | 28.25 (14.08) | .977 |
| Sex (n, %) | 1.000 | ||
| Male | 13 (32.50) | 13 (32.50) | |
| Female | 27 (67.50) | 27 (67.50) | |
| Education (y, SD) | 12.00 (2.66) | 13.60 (3.32) | .039 |
| BMI (SD) | 22.99 (4.50) | 22.82 (3.71) | .858 |
| HDRS total scores | 22.55 (5.34) | 0 (0.00) | <.001 |
| Duration of illness (y, SD) | 1.53 (4.72) | ||
| First episode (n, %) | 32 (80%) | ||
| Repeated episode (n, %) | 8 (20%) | ||
| NfL levels (pg/mL, SD) | 28.76 (22.53) | 16.65 (8.07) | .007 |
| Proinflammatory cytokines (SD) | |||
| Log CRP | 2.86 (0.59) | 2.70 (0.57) | .235 |
| Log IL-6 | 4.49 (0.15) | 4.50 (0.10) | .901 |
| Log TNF-α | 2.94 (0.13) | 2.93 (0.08) | .568 |
| WCST (SD) | |||
| Percent perseverative errors | 13.66 (8.83) | 9.63 (5.66) | .020 |
| Percent conceptual level responses | 63.09 (21.84) | 75.95 (14.04) | .003 |
| No. of categories completed | 4.83 (2.06) | 5.73 (0.78) | .013 |
| Trials to complete first category | 27.03 (33.23) | 14.43 (7.66) | .023 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CRP, C-reactive protein; HDRS, 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; IL, interleukin; NfL, neurofilament light chain; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; WCST, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task.