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World J Psychiatry. Sep 19, 2026; 16(9): 121407
Published online Sep 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.121407
Published online Sep 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.121407
Serum NfL and GFAP levels and their association with anxiety-depression in Alzheimer’s disease patients: A clinical retrospective study
Guang-Wen Xu, Chang-Hao Yin, Department of Neurology, Hongqi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang 157011, Heilongjiang Province, China
Xiao-Ling Zhu, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Harbin the First Hospital, Harbin 150010, Heilongjiang Province, China
Author contributions: Xu GW conceptualized and designed the study, and drafted and revised the manuscript; Zhu XL collected data, recruited participants, and conducted clinical assessment of anxiety and depressive symptoms; Yin CH performed statistical analyses and interpreted the data; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Supported by Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province, No. ZL2024H014.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Hongqi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, approval No. GB-HQ-00025.
Informed consent statement: The informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to institutional data privacy regulations but are available from the corresponding author (Chang-Hao Yin; yinchanghao1234@163.com) upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Chang-Hao Yin, MD, Department of Neurology, Hongqi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University, No. 5 Tongxiang Road, Aimin District, Mudanjiang 157011, Heilongjiang Province, China. yinchanghao1234@163.com
Received: March 24, 2026
Revised: April 20, 2026
Accepted: June 3, 2026
Published online: September 19, 2026
Processing time: 153 Days and 17 Hours
Revised: April 20, 2026
Accepted: June 3, 2026
Published online: September 19, 2026
Processing time: 153 Days and 17 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Anxiety and depression are common neuropsychiatric disorders that negatively influence prognosis and quality of life in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Results from this study show that the combination of serum neuroaxonal damage marker and astrocytic activation marker, not the single markers, have improved prognostic value for anxiety and depression. Age-stratified analysis provides further evidence of a strong age-dependent gradient in anxiety-depression prevalence These findings highlight the role of thorough biomarker assessment in combination with age-related risk stratification in everyday clinical practice to identify and treat at-risk patients better and earlier for Alzheimer’s disease.