Associations between uric acid and depressive symptoms, and the mediating role of immunoinflammatory: Findings from rural older adults

Background

In the low-resource rural areas, older adults may experience prolonged and severe depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between uric acid, depressive symptoms and immunoinflammatory among rural older adults.

Method

This case-control study was conducted in 17 rural villages in Hunan Province, China, between January 2023 and April 2024. This study included 180 participants: (1) Rural Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms group:90 patients with first-time diagnosed with depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-15, GDS-15 ≥ 5 scores); (2) Control group: 90 individually matched (age and sex) healthy subjects (GDS-15 < 5 scores) who were aged ≥60 years.

Results

Both males and females, depressive symptoms were associated with higher uric acid levels and C-reactive protein levels (All P < 0.05). Whereas in females, depressive symptoms were also linked to higher procalcitonin (P = 0.005) and serum amyloid A (P = 0.008) levels. In addition, C-reactive protein plays a significant mediating role between uric acid and depressive symptoms in males.

Conclusion

Further investigation is necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms, examine gender-specific disparities, and assess potential therapeutic interventions targeting uric acid and inflammation levels to mitigate mental disorders risk.