Functional Polymorphism in the Interleukin 6 (IL6) Gene with Respect to Depression Induced in the Course of Interferon-α and Ribavirin Treatment in Chronic Hepatitis Patients

Interleukin (IL)-6 is a multifactorial cytokine known to be increased in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and to be predictive of depression incidence. The aim of the study was to explore the association between IL6 gene C-174G polymorphism and depressive symptom severity in the longitudinal study design following the course of pegylated interferon/ribavirin treatment in CHC patients. In our study, we included 62 CHC subjects. They were assessed using present state examination, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at weeks 0, 3, 5, 9, 13, 24 and 24 weeks after the end of treatment. The risk of depression was associated with higher baseline MADRS score and BDI score. Interestingly, when stratified by IL6 C-174G polymorphism, higher baseline depressive symptom severity measured by MADRS and BDI predicted higher risk of depression in the course of antiviral treatment only in high IL-6 producers—G allele carriers (patients with GG and CG genotypes) (p = 0.004, p = 0.00008, respectively). There is interaction between severity of baseline depressive symptoms at the beginning of antiviral therapy and IL6 gene C-174G polymorphism leading to increased risk for the development of depressive episode in CHC patients in the course of antiviral treatment.