Biomarkers, Traditional Chinese Medicine Body Constitution, Dietary Pattern and Psychological Factors in Predicting Depression Among University Students in UTAR, Malaysia

University students are a high at risk group for development of depression. Identifying the determinants of depression could help in the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder. This study will incorporate questionnaire and blood sample data collection procedures on 397 subjects. Written consent will be obtained from the subjects. Eligible subjects will be given self-administered questionnaires which include Patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), Constitution in Chinese medicine questionnaire (CCMQ), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) - stress and anxiety subscales, Perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10), Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), and Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Once the subjects completed the questionnaires, blood samples will be collected from them by a trained phlebotomist. In addition, 10 most high at risk of depression subjects (with PHQ-9 scores 10 and above) and 10 healthy subjects (with PHQ-9 scores lower than 10) will be selected randomly for protein expression to further identify the proteins that significantly expressed among them.