Post-Covid-19 Depression and Serum Interleukin 6 Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Covid-19 Convalescents With and Without Depression Publisher Pubmed



Seyedmirzaei H^{1, 2, 3} ; Faramarzpour M^{3, 4} ; Saghazadeh A^{2, 5} ; Teixeira AL⁶ ; Rezaei N^{2, 3, 5, 7}
Source: World Journal of Biological Psychiatry Published:2023

Abstract

Objectives: Depression is among the psychiatric sequelae of COVID-19, affecting more than 20% of the convalescents. Its underlying pathophysiology remains unclear. Interleukin 6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, plays a critical role in the COVID-19-associated cytokine storm, has been implicated in depressive disorders, and may thus be involved in post-COVID-19 depression. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science were systematically searched for relevant studies assessing peripheral IL-6 levels in convalescents who developed depression after COVID-19 vs. convalescents who did not. Results: Five studies were included in our systematic review, and four entered the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that post-COVID people with de novo depression did not have statistically significant differences in IL-6 levels compared to those without depression (standardised mean difference (SMD) = 0.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.35, 0.54, p-value = 0.68). Conclusions: Although convalescents with depression did not have significantly higher IL-6 levels than convalescents without depression, the results should be interpreted considering the limited sample size and the low power of the included studies. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.