Objectives: We compared serum levels of chemokines between male elders with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls, verifying whether any difference exists in the levels of these mediators between those with and without current suicidal ideation (SI).
Methods: We enrolled 145 male elders aged 65 or older and analyzed 40 chemokines in patients with MDD with SI (n = 24) and without SI (n = 23), as well as healthy controls (n = 98).
Results: The patients with MDD with SI presented higher levels of MCP-2/CCL8 (p < 0.001) compared with the patients with MDD without SI and the healthy controls.
Conclusions: Current findings suggest a potential role of MCP-2/CCL8 in suicidality among elderly males with depression.
Keywords: Chemokines; MCP-2/CCL8; elderly; major depressive disorder; suicide.