Psychological and cytokine changes in children and adolescents undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a therapeutic option of a large variety of diseases. It involves several physiological and psychological changes. Investigations of mood changes in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are common. There are no studies however, on the relationship between changes in mood and physiological changes in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children and adolescents. We investigated the correlation between anxiety, depression and serum Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2 and IL-6. Methods: Participants, 11 boys and 12 girls, aged 6–18 years, were administered the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory for Children (SAIC), at four different points in time: at conditioning time when treatment is initiated (time 1=T1), on the day of hematopoietic transplantation (T2), on the day of engraftment (T3) and a week after the engraftment (T4). At each of those times serum samples for cytokines determination were collected as well. Results: Up to the time of engraftment depression and anxiety were relatively high but resolved subsequently. Globally, there was a significant time effect for anxiety (p = 0.0082). Namely, scores differ between times. Depression showed a similar trend, though this trend did not reach significance (p = 0.1394). Negative correlation was found between serum IL-1β, IL-2 and IL-6 levels and anxiety (IL-2 and IL-6) and depression scores (IL-1β and IL-2) at T4. The complex interaction between cytokines, depression and anxiety in children and adolescents undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation merits further long-term studies under natural conditions and on laboratory models.