Depression Biomarker in Teenage Boys Could Provide Better Treatment Options

One in six people will suffer from either major or clinical depression at some point in their lives. A study conducted by the University of Cambridge may have identified the first biological marker for these types of depression and could provide new treatments for the mental illness.

The experiments incorporated two groups of teenagers (boys and girls) who provided levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) from their saliva. The first group consisted of 660 teens that provided four early morning saliva samples on schooldays and followed up 12 months later and gave the same samples. The second group included 1,198 teens that provided early morning samples over the course of three school days and followed up after 12 months as well.

The study found that teenage boys who show a combination of depressive symptoms and higher levels of cortisol are nearly 14 times more likely to be diagnosed with major depression than those who display neither trait. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Ian Goodyer of the University of Cambridge led the study and divided the two groups of teenagers into four subgroups ranging from normal levels of morning cortisol and low symptoms of depression over time (Group 1) to teenagers with elevated levels of morning cortisol and high symptoms of depression over time (Group 4). Group 4 consisted of 17% of the total pool of participants.

The biomarker was identified for that specific 17% of participants who suffered from this major depression. Dr. Matthew Owens, another author of the study and professor at the University of Cambridge weighed in on the significance of the discovery.

"This new biomarker suggests that we may be able to offer a more personalised approach to tackling boys at risk for depression, he said in this EurekAlert! article. This could be a much needed way of reducing the number of people suffering from depression."

The Wellcome Trust funded the research for this project and they are excited with the results. Past studies and experiments have proven slow in finding biomarkers for depression, but this study showed promising results and could help treat patients very soon.