Serum levels of Adrenocorticotropic hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone are associated with suicidal thoughts in patients with major depressive disorder

Hou, Ruihua, Li, X R, Baldwin, David and Sun, X L (2018) Serum levels of Adrenocorticotropic hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone are associated with suicidal thoughts in patients with major depressive disorder. British Association for Psychopharmacology Summer Meeting, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. 22 - 25 Jul 2018. p. 93 .

Abstract

Background: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have a substantially higher prevalence of suicidal thoughts than is seen in non-depressed individuals in the general population. Potential biological correlates of suicidal thoughts in first-episode MDD are relatively under-investigated. We examined suicidal thoughts and their associations with clinical features and endocrine measures in patients with first-episode, drug-naïve (FEDN) MDD using a cross-sectional design. Method: 91 FEDN patients meeting DSM-IV diagnosis of MDD were recruited. Depressive and anxiety symptoms, suicidal thoughts and other aspects of psychopathology were assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), HamiltonAnxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Sociodemographic characteristics(including age, sex, marriage, education, working status), life experiences (Life Event Scale, LES) and clinical features were recorded systematically. Serum levels of cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH), stimulating thyroid hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) were measured. Results: There were 52 patients with suicidal thoughts and 39 without. Serum levels of ACTH and HAMD scores (t=-2.80, p=0.006 and t=-2.14, p=0.04, respectively) differed significantly between groups with and without suicidal thoughts, whereas there were no between-group differences in cortisol, TSH,FT4, or FT3 levels. After controlling for potential demographic and clinical variables, logistic regression analysis indicated that ACTH levels were positively associated with suicidal thoughts (OR=1.047, 95% CI:1.017~1.077, p=0.002), whereas TSH levels were negatively associated with suicidal thoughts (OR=0.557,95% CI: 0.365~0.849, p=0.006). Conclusion: Our study indicates high serum ACTH and low TSH levels were associated with suicidal thoughts in patients with first-episode drug-naïve MDD. Further research using a prospective study design is warranted to examine how these associations might change over time.

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Contributors

Author: Ruihua Hou

Author: David Baldwin

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