ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1582449
This article is part of the Research TopicBrain-body Interactions Underlying Comorbid Depression and Other Mood DisordersView all 7 articles
Platelet/High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio as a Biomarker of Depression in Individuals with Chronic Opioid Use
Provisionally accepted
- Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: The comorbidity of depression and opioid use is increasingly recognized as a significant public health concern. Chronic opioid use can alter biological systems, including lipid metabolism and inflammatory responses, potentially contributing to depressive symptoms. The platelet/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (PHR) has emerged as a biomarker associated with both cardiovascular and mental health outcomes. This study investigates the relationship between PHR and depression in individuals with chronic opioid use.Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2007–2018). A total of 843 participants with prescription opioid use were included. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), with a score ≥10 indicating clinically significant depression. PHR was calculated from platelet counts and HDL cholesterol levels and categorized into quartiles. Weighted logistic regression and restricted cubic spline regression were employed to evaluate associations and potential nonlinear relationships, adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and clinical covariates.Results: Higher PHR quartiles were significantly associated with increased odds of depression, even after full adjustment for confounders (OR for Q3: 3.40; 95% CI: 1.95–5.94; OR for Q4: 4.12; 95% CI: 2.21–7.12). A nonlinear relationship was observed, with depression risk increasing sharply beyond a specific PHR threshold. Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations in younger participants and those with obesity, with significant interaction effects for age and BMI.Conclusion: Elevated PHR is independently associated with depression in individuals with chronic opioid use, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for identifying at-risk populations. The findings underscore the need to address systemic inflammation and lipid dysregulation as part of integrated mental health care for opioid users.
Keywords: platelet/HDL cholesterol ratio, Depression, Chronic opioid use, biomarkers, Inflammation, Lipid Metabolism, NHANES
Received: 24 Feb 2025; Accepted: 23 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Liu, Chen and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hong Chen, Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.