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. 2022 May 11;58(5):652.
doi: 10.3390/medicina58050652.

Clinical Study of Serum Serotonin as a Screening Marker for Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Lavinia-Alexandra Moroianu  1   2 , Curis Cecilia  2 , Valeriu Ardeleanu  3   4   5 , Anca Pantea Stoian  6 , Vasilica Cristescu  7 , Raisa-Eloise Barbu  8 , Marius Moroianu  9   10
Affiliations

Clinical Study of Serum Serotonin as a Screening Marker for Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Lavinia-Alexandra Moroianu et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Over time, studies have shown the importance of determining serotonin levels to diagnose somatic and psychiatric disorders. There are theoretical premises and practical ways to achieve a subtle correlation between the existence of comorbid psychiatric disorders and somatic diseases caused by the changes observed in serotonin levels. The present study, classified as retrospective and quantitative, provides evidence for determining the serotonin levels in patients with diabetes and anxiety or depression. A total of 48 patients with diabetes type 2 were enrolled in the study. Blood glucose level, glycated haemoglobin, and serum serotonin were noted, and they completed Hamilton A and Beck Depression Inventory questionnaires. We found robust correlations between serum serotonin and blood glucose (Sig. = 0.008), serum serotonin and HbA1c (Sig. = 0.007), serum serotonin and anxiety (Sig. = 0.000), and serum serotonin and depression (Sig. = 0.000). It is also noteworthy that women recorded extreme values higher than men for glycated haemoglobin (95% confidence interval: 6.92-7.79 in women and 6.30-7.23 in men). In conclusion, using serotonin as a marker of the mentioned diseases in clinical practice is of significant utility, considering the benefits in terms of the evolution and prognosis of comorbidities in patients with type 2 diabetes and anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Keywords: anxiety; comorbidities; depression; prognosis; serotonin; type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 2
Figure 2
Values obtained when testing serotonin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Blood glucose test results.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Results of HbA1c values.
Figure 1
Figure 1
The frequency of patients’ declared ages at the time of testing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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