The British Journal of Psychiatry· 2000Q1
Recent life events, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone and the onset of major depression in high-risk adolescents
- 436citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2000year
Short summary
High-risk adolescents with higher baseline depressive symptoms and recent personal losses were 3x more likely to develop major depression if they also had elevated morning cortisol or evening dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels.
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Key points
- Major depression onset in high-risk adolescents was predicted by higher baseline depressive symptoms.
- Recent personal disappointments and losses in the month before onset were significant predictors.
- Elevated daily levels of morning cortisol (08:00h) or evening dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, 20:00h) above the 80th percentile also predicted onset.
- These psychoendocrine factors, combined with life events and depressive symptoms, predict depression onset in both genders.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It is not clear whether cortisol or dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) hypersecretion increases the risk for major depression in the presence of undesirable life events. AIMS: To determine whether there is a specific pattern of psychoendocrine factors that predicts the onset of major depressive disorder. METHOD: 180 adolescents (73 boys, 107 girls) at high risk for psychopathology were assessed for cortisol, DHEA, depressive symptoms, life events and psychiatric disorder at entry and 12 months later. RESULTS: Major depression was predicted for both genders by the additive effects of: higher depressive symptoms; personal disappointments and losses only in the month before onset; one or more daily levels of cortisol at 08.00 h or DHEA at 20.00 h greater than the 80th percentile of the daily mean. CONCLUSIONS: A subgroup of adolescents may carry a physiological risk for major depression which may be either of genetic and/or earlier psychosocial origin.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2000 · DOI ↗
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Field: Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral NeuroscienceNeuroscience