Mental disorders may enhance the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-ɑ), which are associated with endothelial dysfunction and metabolic alterations (Vaccarino et al., 2018; Misiak et al., 2022; Tsioufis et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2023). Here, TNF is linked to endothelial dysfunction.