Herane-Vives, A;
Fischer, S;
de Angel, V;
Wise, T;
Cheung, E;
Chua, KC;
Arnone, D;
... Cleare, AJ; + view all
(2018)
Elevated fingernail cortisol levels in major depressive episodes.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
, 88
pp. 17-23.
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.10.026.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: The extent to which cortisol levels are elevated in major depressive episodes (MDE), and hence could act as a biomarker of illness, remains unclear. Although patient characteristics may explain some of this variation – for example elevated cortisol being more often found in patients with severe, psychotic or melancholic depression – problems with the methods used to measure cortisol may also have contributed to the inconsistent findings. Fingernails are a novel sample that can be used to assess aggregate cortisol concentrations over a 15-day period, and may provide a more accurate reflection of longer term cortisol level changes in MDE and help clarify this issue. This methodology has not yet been utilised in MDE. METHODS: Cortisol levels reflecting a period of 15 days were measured using fingernails in a group of 26 subjects experiencing a major depressive episode (MDE) and in an age and gender matched group of 45 healthy controls. RESULTS: Depressed subjects showed significantly higher mean cortisol levels measured in fingernails when compared with control subjects. Higher levels of cortisol were associated with higher depression severity scores, a diagnosis of non-reactive depression, and more prominent melancholic symptoms. Conversely, fatigue was negatively correlated with cortisol levels. CONCLUSION: There is elevated cortisol in MDE when assessed using an aggregate measure over two weeks.Alterations in fingernail cortisol correlate with key clinical symptoms and subtypes of depression.
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