Could high serum C-reactive protein levels serve as a biomarker for children and adolescents diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder?

Table 1 Socio-demographic, clinical characteristics and scores of children with generalized anxiety disorder and control, n (%)/median (interquartile range)

Parameters	GAD group (n = 25)	Control group (n = 30)	P value
Gender			0.128
Female	18 (72)	15 (50)
Male	7 (28)	15 (50)
Family history of chronic illnesses	13 (52.0)	21 (65.6)	0.298
Family history of psychiatric disorders	14 (56)	8 (26.7)	0.019
Smoking (yes)	1 (3.8)	0 (0)	0.464
COVID-19 history (yes)	12 (46.2)	12 (40.0)	0.64
Parents together (yes)	23 (88.5)	26 (86.7)	0.839
Age (years)	160 (135-185)	154 (128-177)	0.271
BMI percentile	45 (22-80)	61 (19.1-82)	0.622
Time since symptom onset (months)	11 (6-25)
RCADS-CV scores
SAD	60 (53-70)	44.5 (41-51)	< 0.001
GAD	59 (54-68)	42 (39-47)	< 0.001
PD	68 (52-80)	43.5 (39-52)	< 0.001
SP	54 (42-72)	39 (33-44)	< 0.001
OCD	60 (52-69)	46.5 (38-51.3)	< 0.001
MDD	61 (44-75)	42.5 (38-52)	< 0.001
Total	65 (51-75)	41 (37-47)	< 0.001

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; BMI: Body mass index; RCADS-CV: Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scales Clinical Interview Version; SAD: Separation anxiety disorder; GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder; PD: Panic disorder; SP: Social phobia; OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder; MDD: Major depressive disorder.

Table 2 Comparison of biochemical measure levels between the generalized anxiety disorder and control groups, median (interquartile range)

	GAD group (n = 25)	Control group (n = 30)	P value1
CRP (mg/L)	1.7 (1.2-2.94)	1.3 (1.2-1.7)	0.034
TNF-α (pg/mL)	7.9 (6.4-11.0)	9.3 (7.7-11.0)	0.466
TWEAK (mg/L)	1111 (893-1889)	1236 (1009-1380)	0.980
IL-6 (pg/mL)	2.8 (0.75-3.99)	2.8 (0.8-4.0)	0.615
IFN-γ (ng/mL)	59.4 (38.4-95.4)	61.6 (54-84)	0.628
Zinc (μg/dL)	94 (82-104)	100 (93-112)	0.073
Neopterin (nmol/L)	3.66 (1.84-4.74)	2.9 (2.2-3.9)	0.674

¹Mann-Whitney U test.

CRP: C-reactive protein; TNF: Tumor necrosis factor; TWEAK: Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis; IL: Interleukin; IFN: Interferon; GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder.