Salivary Melatonin in Relation to Depressive Symptom Severity in Young Adults

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 4; p. e0152814
• Main Authors: Sundberg, Isak, Ramklint, Mia, Stridsberg, Mats, Papadopoulos, Fotios C, Ekselius, Lisa, Cunningham, Janet L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 04.04.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Ambulatory Care; Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Depression; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression - metabolism; Depression - physiopathology; Depression - therapy; Depressive Symptoms; Diabetes; Diagnosis; Emotional disorders; Endocrinology; Female; HbA1C; Humans; MADRS-S; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Melatonin; Melatonin - metabolism; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Neurosciences; Normal distribution; Oxi-LDL; Patients; People and Places; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Prognosis; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Psykiatri; Regression analysis; Research Domain Criteria (RDoC); Risk factors; Saliva; Saliva - metabolism; Severity; Severity of Illness Index; Sheehan Disability Scale; Statistical analysis; Studies; Young Adult; Young adults; Sweden
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152814

Reduced levels of melatonin have been associated with severe depression. The aim was to investigate the correlation between salivary melatonin and dimensional measures of depressive symptom severity in young adult psychiatric patients. Levels of melatonin were analyzed in six saliva samples during waking hours from 119 young adult patients under outpatient psychiatric care. Melatonin levels were tested for association with the severity of depressive symptoms using the self-rating version of the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S). Where possible, depressive symptoms were assessed again after 6±2 months of treatment. Response was defined as decrease in MADRS-S by ≥50% between baseline and follow-up. Patients with levels of melatonin in the lowest quartile at bedtime had an increased probability of a high MADRS-S score compared to those with the highest levels of melatonin (odds ratio 1.39, 95% CI 1.15-1.69, p<0.01). A post hoc regression analysis found that bedtime melatonin levels predicted response (odds ratio 4.4, 95% CI 1.06-18.43, p<0.05). A negative relationship between salivary melatonin and dimensional measures of depressive symptom severity was found in young patients under outpatient psychiatric care. Bedtime salivary melatonin levels may have prognostic implications.