Simple peripheral markers for inflammation in adolescents with major depressive disorder

OBJECTIVE: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume (MPV), and red cell distribution width (RDW) were determined to be good indicators of inflammatory status. The aim of this study was to investigate NLR, PLR, MPV, and RDW, which can provide insight into diagnosis and/or prognosis in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to controls. METHOD: A total of 103 patients diagnosed with MDD, who received no antidepressant therapy within the past 1 month, were included in the study. The control group consisted of 41 healthy subjects with no organic and psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: NLR and MPV values were significantly high in adolescents with MDD compared with healthy controls (2.00 +/- 0.80 vs. 1.63 +/- 0.64, P=.011; 10.25 +/- 0.91 vs. 9.62 +/- 1.23, P=.005). There was no difference between the groups on PLR and RDW. There was a positive correlation between NLR and Children's Depression Scale (CDI) scores in the total study group (r=0.229, P=.006). There was also a positive correlation between MPV and CDI scores in the total study group (r=0.185, P=.028). CONCLUSION: The findings of the study reveal that NLR and MPV tend to be higher in adolescents with MDD, and higher NLR values are associated with higher CDI scores in adolescents. The findings of this study are consistent with the relevant literature of inflammatory status in MDD. Our study gave us an idea of the need for larger sample study on the routine use of blood parameters in adolescent depression.