Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2026; 16(10): 122412
Published online Oct 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.122412
Published online Oct 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.122412
Do serum biomarker levels correlate with anxiety disorders?
Xiao-Ping Li, Shu-Yin Luo, Yu-Ting Qiu, Xin-Ling Zhang, Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou 310015, Zhejiang Province, China
Hai-Ling Ji, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Weihai Medical District, The 970th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Weihai 264200, Shandong Province, China
Chun-Ying Zhu, Department of Clinical Psychology, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310005, Zhejiang Province, China
Ya-Li Xu, Hangzhou Tongchuang Medical Laboratory, Hangzhou 310022, Zhejiang Province, China
Lei Jiang, Centre of Laboratory Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Xiao-Ping Li and Hai-Ling Ji.
Co-corresponding authors: Ya-Li Xu and Lei Jiang.
Author contributions: Li XP and Ji HL contribute equally to this study as co-first authors; Xu YL and Jiang L contribute equally to this study as co-corresponding authors; Li XP, Ji HL and Luo SY constructed the research framework, collected literature, drafted the original manuscript and revised the paper; Zhu CY, Qiu YT and Zhang XL curated data and revised the manuscript; Xu YL and Jiang L supervised the study, acquired funds, provided research resources and revised the manuscript; and all authors have read and approved the final version to publish.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (specifically ChatGPT) were used solely for linguistic refinement. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.
Supported by Zhejiang Health Information Association Research Program, No. 2025XHZN-Z04.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University.
Informed consent statement: The waiver of informed consent in this study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest related to the article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Ya-Li Xu, Hangzhou Tongchuang Medical Laboratory, No. 672 Huazhong South Road, Hangzhou 310022, Zhejiang Province, China. yali.xu@tclab.cn
Received: April 27, 2026
Revised: June 4, 2026
Accepted: June 26, 2026
Published online: October 19, 2026
Processing time: 166 Days and 21 Hours
Revised: June 4, 2026
Accepted: June 26, 2026
Published online: October 19, 2026
Processing time: 166 Days and 21 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This retrospective study investigated the role of serum biomarkers in distinguishing between healthy controls and patients with anxiety disorders and a history of violence. The case group exhibited reduced levels of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), mature BDNF, and aquaporin-4, along with elevated levels of BDNF precursor and glycogen synthase kinase-3β. The combined diagnosis biomarker panel demonstrated significant discriminatory capacity (area under the curve = 0.9698). This combined diagnosis holds potential diagnostic value for identifying these patients with anxiety disorders.