TSH response to TRH and EEG sleep in non-bipolar major depression: a multivariate approach

• Published in: European neuropsychopharmacology Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 517 - 525
• Main Authors: Hubain, Ph.P., Staner, L., Dramaix, M., Kerkhofs, M., van Veeren, C., Papadimitriou, G., Mendlewicz, J., Linkowski, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.1994
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Depressive Disorder - blood; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Electroencephalography - drug effects; Endogenous subtype; Female; Humans; Major depressive disorder; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Newcastle scale; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotic subtype; Sex Characteristics; Sleep; Sleep - drug effects; Thyrotropin - blood; Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone - pharmacology; TSH response to TRH; Newcastle scale; Sleep; Major depressive disorder; Endogenous subtype; Psychotic subtype; TSH response to TRH
• ISSN: 0924-977X; 1873-7862
• DOI: 10.1016/0924-977X(94)90301-8

The TSH response to TRH and selected sleep EEG variables were studied in a homogenous sample of 280 non-bipolar major depressed inpatients (95 males and 185 females). The TSH was blunted in 28% of the sample. Δmax TSH was correlated negatively with age, Hamiltoninating scale, Newcastle scale, percentage of wake, and positively with basal TSH, percentage of stage II, slow wave sleep, REM sleep and REM latency. Δmax TSH was also lower in male patients and in patients suffering from an endogenous or a psychotic subtype of major depression. Basal TSH was only correlated negatively with the Newcastle score. In view of intercorrelations between all these variables, and because of the confounding effect of age, gender and severity on both the TSH response to TRH and sleep EEG variables, a multiple regression analysis was performed and demonstrated that basal TSH and gender were the two variables with the highest contribution to the Δmax TSH variance, followed by age and the presence of psychotic symptoms. When controlling strictly for these significant effects, correlation with the severity or with the endogenous character of depression, and with sleep EEG parameters disappeared.