Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Sep 19, 2023; 13(9): 665-674
Published online Sep 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i9.665
Immune function, gastrointestinal hormone levels, and their clinical significance in patients with gastric ulcers complicated with depression
Yun-Han Yang, De-Jun Cui, Zai-Li Yang, Wen-Qiang Yuan, Bo Huang
Yun-Han Yang, De-Jun Cui, Zai-Li Yang, Wen-Qiang Yuan, Bo Huang, Department of Gastroenterology, Guizhou Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Center, National Institution of Drug Clinical Trial, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Medical College of Guizhou University, Guiyang 550002, Guizhou Province, China
Author contributions: Yang YH and Cui DJ co-designed the study, wrote the paper, contributed equally to this work, and are the first co-authors; Yang ZL, Yuan WQ, and Huang B participated in the study and provided clinical recommendations.
Supported by the Cultivation Fund of National Natural Science Foundation, No. qiankehe2018-5764-11.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital (2023-041).
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was waived.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: According to institutional policies, third-party access to data is not supported.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yun-Han Yang, MM, Attending Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, Guizhou Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Center, National Institution of Drug Clinical Trial, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Medical College of Guizhou University, No. 83 East Zhongshan Road, Guiyang 550002, Guizhou Province, China. yunhan_y@163.com
Received: July 18, 2023
Peer-review started: July 18, 2023
First decision: August 4, 2023
Revised: August 16, 2023
Accepted: August 25, 2023
Article in press: August 25, 2023
Published online: September 19, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Psychophysiological factors play a significant role in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal illnesses. Gastric ulcers (GU) are characterized by repeated attacks that can cause adverse severe psychological states. Some patients also experience anxiety and depression due to a lack of timely and effective treatment for physical diseases, which makes depression increasingly prominent in patients with GU.

Research motivation

The relevant risk factors and pathogenesis of GU concomitant with depression have not yet been fully elucidated. The occurrence and severity of GU complicated with depression may be related to autoimmune dysfunction and gastrointestinal hormonal disorders.

Research objectives

This study aimed to investigate the immune function, gastrointestinal hormone levels, and clinical significance of patients with GU combined with depression and to control disease progression in patients with GU complicated with depression.

Research methods

This study used a retrospective approach to analyze two indexes of immune function and gastrointestinal hormones. Furthermore, it explored the factors influencing the severity of GU concurrent depression using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Research results

Serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgM, gastrin (GAS), and cholecystokinin (CCK) levels were the influencing factors affecting the severity of GU combined with depression; the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of immune function (IgA, IgM) and gastrointestinal hormone levels (GAS, CCK) for the prediction of GU with depression severity was 0.958 (95% confidence interval: 0.933-0.976).

Research conclusions

The occurrence of GU complicated with depression is related to autoimmune dysfunction and disorders of gastrointestinal hormone levels. Immune function and gastrointestinal hormone levels can be used as effective indicators to predict the severity of GU complicated with depression.

Research perspectives

Using a retrospective analysis approach, patients were divided into severe and mild-moderate groups according to the Hamilton Depression Scale. Basic data from both groups, including immune function and gastrointestinal hormone markers, were used to analyze the factors affecting the severity of GU and concurrent depression. To explore the value of immune function indices, gastrointestinal hormone indices and a combination of indices were used to predict the severity of GU and depression.