Relationship of Hair Cortisol with History of Psychosis, Neuropsychological Performance and Functioning in Remitted Later-Life Major Depression

Abstract

Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction that may persist into remission. Preliminary evidence suggests that this dysfunction may be associated with impaired neuropsychological performance in remitted MDD. MDD with psychotic features (“psychotic depression”) is associated with greater neuropsychological and functional impairment than nonpsychotic depression, including in remission. Therefore, the aim of this exploratory study was to examine the relationships among hair cortisol concentration (HCC) – a marker of longer term endogenous cortisol exposure – and history of psychotic features, neuropsychological performance, and functioning in remitted MDD. Methods: This cross-sectional study compared the relationship between HCC and (i) history of psychosis, (ii) neuropsychological performance, and (iii) everyday functioning in a group of 60 participants with remitted later-life MDD using Pearson’s correlation coefficients. This study also measured HCC in a group of 36 nonpsychiatric volunteers to examine the clinical significance of HCC in the patient group. Results: There were no statistically significant correlations between HCC and history of psychotic features, neuropsychological performance, or functioning. Furthermore, there was no clinically meaningful difference in HCC between patients and nonpsychiatric volunteers. Conclusion: This study is the first to examine HCC in psychotic depression. The results do not support the hypothesis that impaired neuropsychological performance, and everyday function in remitted psychotic depression is due to a sustained elevation of cortisol.