2603.00267 Systemic Inflammation Mediates Depression Risk Through Metabolic Pathways: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of NHANES 2005-2018
Background: Systemic inflammation is associated with depression risk, yet the metabolic pathways mediating this relationship remain incompletely characterized. We investigated whether insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) mediate the association between inflammatory markers and depression in a large, nationally representative sample.