COMPARISION OF SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS IN NORMAL AND SEVERELY DEPRESSED INDIVIDUALS
| Main Author: | Dr. Kaleem ul Hassan Chaudhary, Dr Mohammad Hassan Bugti, Dr.Qura tul ain Tariq |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Bahasa: | eng |
| Terbitan: |
, 2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/1401453 |
Daftar Isi:
- Background: Depression is a mood disorder characterized by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, feeling of hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. A type of depression is major depressive disorder which is signified by various characteristic features which have a strong impact on the person’s over all personality (1). Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal cortex and is considered as a stress hormone. Recent studies have shown that cortisol levels are increased in severe depression and these higher levels can be detected in the saliva samples. Aims and Objectives: We compared the salivary cortisol levels of in normal and severely depressed patients. Materials and Methods: After getting approval from Ethical committee, this cross sectional-analytical study was conducted in Department of Physiology, Shaikh Zayed FPGMI, and Punjab Institute of Mental Health Lahore. Study was Cross-sectional, comparative and 60 participants were included in this study; 30 in control group and 30 in study group. Diagnosed cases of major depression were selected based on outdoor clinical assessment and confirmed by ICD-10 and DSM-4 criteria. .Cases of hyperaldosteronism, Cushing’s syndrome/disease were excluded from the study. Data were collected in the form of a questionnaire based on the Becks Inventory. Saliva samples were taken, processed and assessed for cortisol levels using ELISA kits. Results: Higher salivary cortisol was found in participants who were depressed with positive family history The mean cortisol level in normal subjects was 1.46±0.91 while in depressive patients was 2.23±1.69. The mean level of cortisol was significantly higher in depressive patients as compared to normal subjects (p-value= 0.031). BMI was also found to be associated with depression. Conclusion: Salivary cortisol may be considered as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of depression. Raised salivary cortisol levels very useful tool in early recognition of depression.(3) Early diagnosis of disease and commencement of treatment can result in better clinical outcomes in depression patients.