Association Between FABP7-5-HT Pattern and Anxiety or Depression in Patients With Psoriasis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Psoriasis exhibits a higher incidence of anxiety and depression. However, the diagnostic process heavily relies on subjective evaluation. Fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP7) and serotonin (5-HT) are considered as potential plasma biomarkers. We aimed to investigate the potentiality of plasma FABP7 and 5-HT as biomarkers for predicting anxiety and depression in psoriasis. Data were analysed from 140 patients with psoriasis in the Shanghai Psoriasis Effectiveness Evaluation CoHort (SPEECH). Unsupervised clustering was employed to group patients based on their FABP7 and 5-HT profiles. Subsequently, patients were categorised into Group 1 (lower FABP7 and higher 5-HT) or Group 2. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to investigate the correlation between the FABP7-5-HT pattern and anxiety or depression in psoriasis patients. Patients with psoriasis have a higher incidence of anxiety or depression, as well as higher levels of FABP7 and lower levels of 5-HT. After clustering patients using K-means clustering, Group 2 showed a higher body mass index, a higher incidence of hypertension, more severe psoriasis, and more significant anxiety and depression compared to Group 1. Multivariate logistic regression shows that adjusting for covariates except PASI, duration of psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, Group 2 had a higher risk of anxiety and depression compared to Group 1. Further adjustment for covariates yielded similar results. Pattern of FABP7-5-HT that may indicate an association with psoriasis accompanied by anxiety or depression.