Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate Level Varies Nonlinearly with Symptom Severity in Major Depressive Disorder.
10.9758/cpn.2017.15.2.163
- Author:
Dasom UH
1
;
Hyun Ghang JEONG
;
Kwang Yeon CHOI
;
So Young OH
;
Suji LEE
;
Seung Hyun KIM
;
Sook Haeng JOE
Author Information
1. Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea. jeonghg@korea.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate;
Depression;
Differential diagnosis;
Neuroendocrinology
- MeSH:
Biomarkers;
Compensation and Redress;
Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate*;
Dehydroepiandrosterone*;
Depression;
Depressive Disorder, Major*;
Diagnosis, Differential;
General Practice;
Guilt;
Humans;
Neuroendocrinology;
Population Characteristics;
Up-Regulation
- From:Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
2017;15(2):163-169
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) is still not well understood. Conflicting results for surrogate biomarkers in MDD have been reported, which might be a consequence of the heterogeneity of MDD patients. Therefore, we aim to investigate how the severity of depression and various symptom domains are related to the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-s) in MDD patients. METHODS: We recruited 117 subjects from a general practice. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Depressive symptoms were divided into three subdomains according to BDI items; somatic symptoms, guilt and failure, and mood and inhibition. RESULTS: In subjects with very-mild-to-moderate depression, the DHEA-s level increased as BDI score did. However, the DHEA-s levels in the subjects with severe depression were significantly lower than in subjects with moderate depression (p=0.003). DHEA-s level was correlated with the BDI subscore for guilt and failure in very-mild-to-moderate depression (r=0.365, p=0.006). CONCLUSION: The DHEA-s level appears to be indicative of MDD severity with respect to depressive symptoms, especially regarding guilt and failure. Our findings suggest that the upregulation of DHEA-s may be a part of a compensatory process in very-mild-to-moderate depression, and the failure of this compensation mechanism may underlie the development of severe depression.
