ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2019
Cortisol, oxytocin, and quality of life in major depressive disorder.
Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the Antidepressant Mechanism of Acupuncture with a Focus on Mitochondrial Homeostasis.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Towards Objective Major Depressive Disorder Detection: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Biomarkers.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2025Review
- Ghrelin Inhibits Inflammasomes Activation in Astrocytes, Alleviates Pyroptosis, and Prevents Lipopolysaccharide-induced Depression-like Behavior in Mice.Inflammation · 2025Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea in depression: an observational retrospective study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Health-related quality of life among adolescents and young adults with mood and anxiety concerns.Clinical child psychology and psychiatry · 2024Article
- Review
- Relationship between Cognitive Impairment and Depressive Symptoms with Somatosensory Functions in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Older Adults and Its Impact on Quality of Life.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association between serum oxytocin levels and depressive state in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2023Article
- Plasma neuropeptide levels in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder and healthy controls: A multiplex immunoassay study.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2023Article
- Predicting the Treatment Outcomes of Antidepressants Using a Deep Neural Network of Deep Learning in Drug-Naïve Major Depressive Patients.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- Subjective well-being in non-obese individuals depends strongly on body composition.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Childhood Maltreatment and Its Interaction with Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity and the Remission Status of Major Depression: Effects on Functionality and Quality of Life.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Health-Related Quality of Life in Male Patients under Treatment for Substance Use Disorders with and without Major Depressive Disorder: Influence in Clinical Course at One-Year Follow-Up.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
- Factors Associated With Depressive Episode Recurrences in Primary Care: A Retrospective, Descriptive Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
- Lavender Oil Reduces Depressive Mood in Healthy Individuals and Enhances the Activity of Single Oxytocin Neurons of the Hypothalamus Isolated from Mice: A Preliminary Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Cognitive Distortions in Relation to Plasma Cortisol and Oxytocin Levels in Major Depressive Disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Article
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of serum and plasma cortisol levels in depressed patients versus control.Indian journal of psychiatryReview
- An investigation on the role of oxytocin in chronic neuropathic pain in a Wistar rat model.Neurobiology of pain (Cambridge, Mass.)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeQuality of life (QoL) is greatly impaired in major depressive disorder (MDD). These impairments are not fully accounted for by symptom severity, may persist beyond depressive episodes, and are a risk factor for poor outcomes. MDD is often associated with prominent neuroendocrine changes and increased risk of chronic disease. However, there is a lack of research examining whether biological factors are related to QoL in MDD. This research examined relationships between cortisol, oxytocin, symptom severity, and QoL in MDD.
methodsSixty adults meeting DSM-5 criteria for MDD and 60 healthy controls provided morning plasma samples which were analysed for cortisol and oxytocin levels, and completed measures of QoL and psychopathology.
resultsParticipants with MDD had lower QoL than controls. Cortisol correlated negatively with overall QoL and all QoL domains. Oxytocin correlated positively with overall QoL, and Psychological and Social-Relationships domains. Additionally, cortisol levels were inversely related to psychological QoL, and oxytocin was positively related to social QoL, after controlling for symptom severity and demographic variables.
conclusionsThis study provides novel evidence linking neuroendocrine pathways to particular domains of QoL in MDD. The results indicate that activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is linked to poor psychological QoL, and that oxytocin is important to social QoL, independently of severity of psychopathology. Biopsychosocial approaches to QoL associated with mental health conditions may lead to greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms and to improved, tailored interventions.
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