Psychological distress and C-reactive protein in a South African national survey.

Psychological distress was associated with elevated levels of CRP among South African adults. However, the association was confounded by a range of factors, with demographic variables (age, sex and population group) having the largest confounding effect. These findings indicate that CRP is not a useful biomarker of psychological distress, and that additional work is needed on the underlying psychobiology of psychological distress.