Association between the Daytime Plasma Cortisol Level and Depression Component of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in Korean Depression Clinic Outpatients

Hee Joon Yoon; Yun Hye Oh; Jihye Song; Jiwon Kim; Hong Jin Jeon; Bum-Hee Yu; Yoo Sook Joung

doi:10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.1.91

Journal List > J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc > v.54(1) > 1017786

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Yoon, Oh, Song, Kim, Jeon, Yu, and Joung: Association between the Daytime Plasma Cortisol Level and Depression Component of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in Korean Depression Clinic Outpatients

Original Article

Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 2015; 54(1): 91-96.

Published online: 28 February 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.1.91

Association between the Daytime Plasma Cortisol Level and Depression Component of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in Korean Depression Clinic Outpatients

Hee Joon Yoon, MD¹, Yun Hye Oh, MD¹, Jihye Song, MD¹, Jiwon Kim, MA², Hong Jin Jeon, MD, PhD¹, Bum-Hee Yu, MD, PhD³, Yoo Sook Joung, MD, PhD¹

¹Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

²Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Korea.

³Dr. Yu's Psychiatric Clinic, Seoul, Korea.

Address for correspondence: Yoo Sook Joung, MD, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. Tel +82-2-3410-0930, Fax +82-2-3410-0050, yschoung@skku.edu

Received 25 November 2014 Revised 9 December 2014 Accepted 27 December 2014

Abstract

Objectives

There is evidence that Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPA) system dysregulation plays a role in the pathophysiology of depression. However which psychiatric symptoms are related to HPA system dysregulation has not been studied well. The primary aim of this study was to investigate which symptom components of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) are related to HPA system dysregulation in Korean psychiatric outpatients. The secondary aim was to find other variables that have association with HAM-D components.

Methods

This study was a retrospective review of the charts of outpatients who first visited Samsung Medical Center Depression Clinic between July 2012 and October 2013. Among them those who checked the plasma cortisol level and HAM-D within one week of their first visit were selected. Fifty nine patients were selected. The HAM-D was divided into four components, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and somatic components. Multiple regression of cortisol level was used for four subscales.

Results

Significant positive correlations were observed between the plasma cortisol level and depression component of HAM-D (beta=0.251, p=0.049). Age also showed negative correlation with the depression component of HAM-D (beta=-0.427, p=0.002). However anxiety, insomnia and somatic components of HAM-D did not show correlation with plasma cortisol level.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that in Korean depression clinic outpatients, the depression component of HAM-D is related to plasma cortisol level.

Keywords: Cortisol, Depression, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Depression component, Outpatients

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Relationship between cortisol level and depression component of HAM-D. Cortisol : Square root transformation of raw cortisol level data, Depression : Depression component of HAM-D, HAM-D : Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.

Table 1

Demographic charactersitics of participants

Table 2

Association between HAM-D depression component and plasma cortisol level by multiple linear regression analysis

^* : p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Cortisol : Square root transformation of raw cortisol level data, Medication : Whether participants took medication within 2 weeks before cortisol level was checked, HAM-D : Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

Table 3

Association between HAM-D anxiety, insomnia, somatic components and plasma cortisol level by multiple linear regression analysis

Cortisol : Square root transformation of raw cortisol level data, Medication : Whether participants took medication within 2 weeks before cortisol level was checked, HAM-D : Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

Notes

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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