ArticleComprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology2021
Plasma prolactin is higher in major depressive disorder and females, and associated with anxiety, hostility, somatization, psychotic symptoms and heart rate.
Article in Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- From Mind to Milk: The Influence of Psychological Factors on the Composition of Human Breast Milk.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Biological rhythms in premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2024Pooled it
- Melatonin supplementation, hyperprolactinemia, and incident heart failure: A proposed prolactin-mediated pathway for cardiovascular risk.World journal of experimental medicine · 2026Review
- Endocrine Sequelae of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department: A 12-Month Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Idiopathic Hyperprolactinemia: Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, Management, and Clinical Outcome.Cureus · 2025Article
- Theobromine prevents affective symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by modulating the neuroendocrine and immune systems, as well as the glutathione mechanism in the hippocampus.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2025Article
- Associations between depressive symptoms and frequency, intensity, duration, and style of walking in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- Unmasking the cycle: Premenstrual and menstrual exacerbation of psychiatric disorders and impact on female mental health.World journal of psychiatry · 2025Review
- Mechanistic intersections between migraine and major depressive disorder.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Review
- Efficacy of probiotic adjuvant therapy in women with major depressive disorder: insights from a case series study.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Article
- Article
- The Potential Role of Dopamine Pathways in the Pathophysiology of Depression: Current Advances and Future Aspects.CNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- Increased incidence of uterine leiomyoma in young females with depression: An observational study.iScience · 2024Article
- Psychotic symptoms in Chinese adolescent patients with major depressive disorder: prevalence and related endocrine clinical factors.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Current Insights in Prolactin Signaling and Ovulatory Function.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Understanding the Biological Relationship between Migraine and Depression.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Testosterone and Prolactin Perturbations Possibly Associated with Reduced Levels of β-Arrestin1 in Mononuclear Leukocytes of Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- The Involvement of Prolactin in Stress-Related Disorders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is linked to poor physical health including an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic disease (CMD), yet the underlying physiology of this relationship is not clear. One pathophysiological mechanism that may underlie this relationship is neuroendocrine dysregulation, including that of the hormone prolactin. Prolactin has a role in the regulation of stress, and it is linked to anxiety, hostility, and weight gain, which are all implicated in MDD and increased CMD risk. However, little research has examined plasma prolactin in association with psychological symptoms of MDD or biometric indices of CMD risk. Method: Plasma samples of 120 participants (n = 60 meeting DSM-5 criteria for MDD and n = 60 control; age and sex matched) were analysed to assess prolactin concentration. Biometric data (BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure and heart rate) were collected, and participants completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Results: Plasma prolactin was higher in participants with MDD versus controls (8.79 ± 5.16 ng/mL and 7.03 ± 4.78 ng/mL, respectively; F = 4.528, p = 0.035) and among females versus males (9.14 ± 5.57 ng/mL and 6.31 ± 3.70 ng/mL, respectively; F = 9.157, p = 0.003). Prolactin was correlated with several psychological symptoms including anxiety, hostility and somatization, and with heart rate, but not with any other biometric measures. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that neuroendocrine dysregulation in MDD may extend to the hormone prolactin, with prolactin being specifically associated with a subset of related psychometric and cardiovascular measures.
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