Anxiety, C-reactive protein, and obesity in NHANES 1999-2004

Jane E Persons; Gary L Pierce; Jess G Fiedorowicz

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02267

Anxiety, C-reactive protein, and obesity in NHANES 1999-2004

Heliyon. 2019 Aug 17;5(8):e02267. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02267. eCollection 2019 Aug.

Authors

Jane E Persons¹, Gary L Pierce^{2

3

4}, Jess G Fiedorowicz^{5

6

7

3

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Carver College of Medicine, United States.
² Department of Health and Human Physiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, United States.
³ François M. Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center, United States.
⁴ Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center, United States.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, United States.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, United States.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, United States.
⁸ Iowa Neurosciences Institute, United States.
⁹ Obesity Research and Education Initiative, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States.

Abstract

The inflammatory marker C-reactive protein has been linked to anxiety across a number of studies. This paper uses data for 1,439 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004 to examine the association between anxiety and C-reactive protein (CRP), and the potential for moderation by body mass index. No association was found between anxiety or depression and CRP in unadjusted or multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses, nor was there evidence of moderation by continuous BMI, BMI class, or obesity. Future studies on the relationship between anxiety and CRP should utilize larger general population samples or populations with a high prevalence of anxiety. There is also a need for prospective studies in this area to better discern the temporal relationships between anxiety and inflammation.

Keywords: Anxiety; C-reactive protein; Depression; Evidence–based medicine; Immunology; Inflammation; Obesity; Physiology; Psychiatry.