In this new study, Pervanidou and colleagues measured cortisol five times a day in the saliva of 50 obese children and teenagers as well as in their blood in the morning. The 20 boys and 30 girls, ages 8 to 15 years, were patients in the Athens University pediatric obesity clinic and did not have a prior diagnosis of depression. All subjects completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), a questionnaire that assesses self-reported symptoms of depression.
Cortisol levels in the saliva in the afternoon and evening correlated positively with symptoms of depression, the authors reported. The more depressive symptoms that subjects reported, the higher the cortisol levels at those times.
This finding indicates that obesity and depression may not only be related to behavior but also may have a hormonal link, according to Pervanidou.
Fascinating study from Greece that measured cortisol levels in the blood and saliva of obese children who had no prior depression Dx.
Study also found depressed adults have slightly elevated cortisol levels at night.
Huge future implications for medtech, pharma, and mood disorder treatments...
Might those of us diagnosed with depression (especially types subject to psychoses) eventually monitor our daily cortisol levels the way that people with diabetes diagnoses monitor glucose, and administer medications that manage the cortisol release in our bodies accordingly?
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