According to a new study, cortisol levels are higher in women with anorexia and hypothalamic amenorrhea (a condition in which the brain fails to produce the hormone necessary to trigger menstruation). These increased levels of cortisol are strongly associated with depression, anxiety and bone loss.

The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston, was published online on Oct. 16, 2009, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The Harvard researchers, led by Elizabeth A. Lawson, M.D., examined whether cortisol levels could be linked to bone loss and mood disturbance in 31 amenorrheic women (women who do not have menstrual periods). Of the study participants, 18 women were amenorrheic due to being anorexic and 13 women were normal-weight with hypothalamic amenorrhea.

The research team found that both groups had lower bone mineral density than healthy women. The two groups also exhibited higher than average cortisol levels, and more incidences of depression and anxiety. In general, the anorexic women had the lowest bone density and the highest cortisol, depression and anxiety levels.

Lawson commented on the study results: "Hypercortisolemia is a potential mediator of bone loss and mood disturbance in these disorders. It is unclear whether hypercortisolemia is secondary or underlies the psychiatric pathology in these disorders."

(Source: www.modernmedicine.com)

Labels: anorexia, anxiety disorders, depression

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According to a new study by the Seattle Children's Research Institute, alcohol abuse, obesity and depression are interrelated conditions for many women.

The study is the first to examine how these three phenomena relate to one another over time in young adults. Almost half of the men and women in the study suffered from at least one of these conditions between the ages of 21 and 30. At age 21, 8 percent of women and 12 percent of men had a least two of these three problems.

Over time, the researchers discovered, having more than one of these problems became more likely for women and less likely for men. The researchers found that women who had alcohol abuse problems at age 24 were nearly four times as likely to be obese at age 27, and that being obese at age 27 more than doubled the risk of developing depression by age 30. The same patterns were not found in men.

The study also found that lower-income individuals of both sexes were more likely to suffer from obesity and depression.

Dr. Carolyn A. McCarty, the study's lead researcher, described the study as "the tip of the iceberg," indicating that the researchers may have hit upon an important and largely unexplored relationship among these three problems in women.

(Source: www.reuters.com)

Labels: obesity, depression, alcohol abuse

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This week, U.S. researchers released the results of a new study that confirms that obesity and depression often occur together. The twin conditions are marked by abnormal levels of a steroid hormone called cortisol. Under normal conditions, the hormone is at its highest level in the early morning, begins to drop in late morning, and is the lowest at night. Lead study author, Dr. Panagiota Pervanidou, of Athens University Medical School in Athens, Greece, commented on the study findings: "Our study indicates that cortisol abnormalities may underlie obesity and depression starting in childhood. ... However, depressed adults have slightly elevated cortisol levels at night the endocrine equivalent of chronic stress."

Recent research has linked chronic elevation of cortisol to the development of abdominal obesity and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Dr. Pervanidou and colleagues examined levels of cortisol five times a day in 50 obese children and teenagers. Participants also completed a depression assessment tool known as the Children's Depression Inventory. High levels of cortisol in the afternoon were correlated with symptoms of depression; the more depressive symptoms reported by participants, the higher the level of cortisol, indicating that the conditions are hormonally linked.

(Source: www.upi.com)

Labels: obesity, depression

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People who survive sexual abuse are more prone to suicide, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and eating disorders, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic.

Ali Zirakzadeh and his colleagues found that sexual abuse runs as high as 21% in adults and 33% in children.

"Survivors of sexual abuse are commonly seen in general medical practice," he said. "Sexual abuse survivors face a challenging spectrum of physical and mental health symptoms, which results in high health care utilization, often times without improvement in their quality of life."

The study was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
 

Labels: trauma, depression, sexual assault

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