The differences in testosterone and stress hormones between unipolar and bipolar depression in adolescents and adults

Jie Yin; Dong Huang; Jianzhao Zhang; Rongxu Zhang; Shuming Zhong; Jiali He; Yangyu Wu; Shijie Luo; Jingyan Sun; Yitong Liu; Xiaodong Song; Shunkai Lai; Yanli Gao; Zhao Chen; Yanbin Jia

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107227

The differences in testosterone and stress hormones between unipolar and bipolar depression in adolescents and adults

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2024 Oct 25:172:107227. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107227. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jie Yin¹, Dong Huang¹, Jianzhao Zhang¹, Rongxu Zhang¹, Shuming Zhong¹, Jiali He¹, Yangyu Wu¹, Shijie Luo¹, Jingyan Sun², Yitong Liu², Xiaodong Song¹, Shunkai Lai¹, Yanli Gao³, Zhao Chen⁴, Yanbin Jia⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
² School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510316, China.
³ The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Dongguan Eastern Central Hospital, China.
⁴ The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Dongguan Eastern Central Hospital, China. Electronic address: 714074900@qq.com.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China. Electronic address: yanbinjia2006@163.com.

PMID: 39577077
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107227

Abstract

Background: While patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) often exhibit aberrant hormones, it is still unknown whether the hormones differ between MDD and BD across the age spectrum. We aimed to investigate the differences in testosterone and stress hormones between depressed patients with MDD and BD in adolescents and adults, and the impact of suicidal ideation on these.

Methods: A total of 432 depressed patients (270 MDD and 162 BD) were recruited, including 177 adolescents and 255 adults. Plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol (CORT), testosterone (T), and prolactin (PRL) were measured in all patients. Suicidal ideation was assessed by item 3 of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.

Results: In adolescents, plasma T levels were higher in MDD than in BD (p=0.018), MDD patients with suicidal ideation exhibited higher T levels than BD patients with suicidal ideation (p=0.036), and plasma T levels were associated with diagnosis (OR_adjus=0.777, p=0.023). In adults, plasma ACTH levels were elevated in MDD versus BD (p=0.012) and were also diagnosis-related (OR_adjus=0.972, p=0.019). Plasma levels of other hormones were not significantly different between MDD and BD in adolescents or adults (all p>0.05).

Conclusions: There was an age-specific difference in the T and ACTH between depressed patients with MDD and BD. Suicidal ideation was linked to T in adolescents.

Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Bipolar disorder; Hormone; Major depressive disorder.