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SALIVARY CORTISOL HYPERSECRETION IN JUVENILE DEPRESSION
Author(s) -
Foreman D. M.,
Goodyer I. M.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1988.tb00719.x
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , saliva , psychology , medicine , hydrocortisone , juvenile , endocrinology , genetics , biology , economics , macroeconomics
Thirty depressed inpatients aged 7–16 yrs were compared for salivary hypercortisolism with a control group of 16 inpatients of mixed diagnosis matched for age and sex. Four cortisol samples were taken over a 48 hr period: 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. on the first day; then, with 1mg of dexamethasone given immediately after the second sample, at 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. on the second day. All except the 8 a.m. value were significantly greater ( P < 0.03) in the depressed group. A 4 nmol/1 cutoff for the 4 p.m. sample gave 48% sensitivity and 91 % specificity for discriminating depressed cases ( P = 0.03). The results indicate that the salivary method for estimating cortisol levels in children and adolescents with depression warrants further study.