In preschool children with anxiety disorder Serum Nrf2/Keap1, Sestrin2 And Superoxide Dismutase comparison of levels with subclinic group and healthy controls

Objective: Anxiety disorder is one of the common psychiatric disorders in preschool children. Many factors have been investigated in the etiopathogenesis of anxiety disorders, but definitive evidence hasn't yet been found. One issue investigated in etiopathogenesis is the increase in oxidative stress and the decrase of the antioxidant system. In our study, we aimed to investigate whether serum Nrf2, Keap1, Sestrin2 and superoxide dismutase levels in antioxidant system elements could be a biomarker for anxiety disorders. Methods: The anxiety group constituted of 22 participants between the ages of 36-83 months, 22 participants in the subclinical group and 21 participants in the control group who aplied to the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Ankara University. Participants underwent a diagnostic interview based on DSM-5 criteria and the severity of anxiety disorders was assessed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment -PAPA- Anxiety Screening Section, The Revised Anxiety Scale for Preschool, Short Temperament Scale for Children and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for Ages 1.5-5. Peripheral venous blood samples were obtained from the participants in all three groups and serum Nrf2, Keap1, Sestrin2,Superoxide dismutase and GABPa levels were measured by ELISA method. Results: Serum Nrf2 and GABPa levels were significantly different between the groups. No significant difference was found between the groups in Keap1, Sestrin2 and Superoxide Dismutase levels. Conclusion: Although our results suggest that the antioxidant system element Nrf2 and GABPa in the mitochondrial system may be used as biomarkers in anxiety disorders, studies with large samples in a wide age range are needed.