Publication Name	World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics
Manuscript ID	115246
Country	Türkiye

Category	Psychology, Clinical
Manuscript Type	Case Control Study
Article Title	Could high serum C-reactive protein levels serve as a biomarker for children and adolescents diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Kübranur Ünal, Yasemin Taş Torun, Mehmet Emre Erol, Zeynep Kübra Kurt and Cansu Özbaş
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Kübranur Ünal, Associate Professor, MD, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Emniyet Mahallesi, Bandırma Caddesi, Ankara 06560, Türkiye. kubranurunal@gazi.edu.tr
Key Words	C-reactive protein; Cytokines; Generalized anxiety disorder; Psychiatric; Biomarker; Inflammation
Core Tip	This study investigated the potential relationship between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and systemic inflammation in drug-naive children and adolescents. Significantly higher C-reactive protein levels compared to healthy controls suggest a low-grade inflammatory process may be present in pediatric GAD. In contrast, no significant group differences were found in other circulatory immune markers. This selective pattern of elevation suggests that specific components of the inflammatory response may be activated in a limited manner in GAD. Furthermore, the positive correlation between clinical symptom severity and illness duration supports the potential impact of early diagnosis and intervention on symptom progression. However, larger sample sizes and longitudinal studies are needed to more robustly define causal relationships and clinical outcomes.
Citation	Ünal K, Taş Torun Y, Erol ME, Kurt ZK, Özbaş C. Could high serum C-reactive protein levels serve as a biomarker for children and adolescents diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. World J Clin Pediatr 2026; In press

Received	2025-10-14 05:12
Peer-Review Started	2025-10-14 05:12
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2025-10-24 11:10
Return for Revision	2025-10-24 11:10
Revised	2025-10-28 11:55
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-01-06 02:40
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-01-06 08:28
Articles in Press	2026-01-06 08:28
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2219-2808 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Permissions	For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/207
Publisher	Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Website	http://www.wjgnet.com