Stimulated Parotid Saliva Is a Better Method for Depression Prediction

Yangyang Cui; Hankun Zhang; Song Wang; Junzhe Lu; Jinmei He; Lanlan Liu; Weiqiang Liu

doi:10.3390/biomedicines10092220

Stimulated Parotid Saliva Is a Better Method for Depression Prediction

Biomedicines. 2022 Sep 7;10(9):2220. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10092220.

Authors

Yangyang Cui^{1

2

3}, Hankun Zhang^{1

2

3}, Song Wang³, Junzhe Lu³, Jinmei He³, Lanlan Liu³, Weiqiang Liu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
³ Biomechanics and Biotechnology Lab, Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518057, China.

Abstract

Background: Saliva cortisol is considered to be a biomarker of depression prediction. However, saliva collection methods can affect the saliva cortisol level.

Objective: This study aims to determine the ideal saliva collection method and explore the application value of saliva cortisol in depression prediction.

Methods: 30 depressed patients and 30 healthy controls were instructed to collect saliva samples in the morning with six collection methods. Simultaneous venous blood was collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the cortisol level. The 24-observerrated Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD-24) was used to assess the severity of depression.

Results: The significant differences in saliva cortisol levels depend on the saliva collection methods. The level of unstimulated whole saliva cortisol was most correlated with blood (r = 0.91). The stimulated parotid saliva cortisol can better predict depression. The area under the curve was 0.89. In addition, the saliva cortisol level of the depression patients was significantly higher than the healthy controls. The correlation between the cortisol level and the HAMD-24 score was highly significant. The higher the saliva cortisol level, the higher the HAMD-24 score.

Conclusions: All the above findings point to an exciting opportunity for non-invasive monitoring of cortisol through saliva.

Keywords: biomarker; blood; collection; correction; cortisol; depression; level; methods; prediction; saliva.

Grants and funding

This project was supported by the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant No. 2020B1515120082), the Innovation Commission of Science and Technology of Shen-zhen Municipality (Grant No. JCYJ20190807144001746, Grant No. JCYJ20200109150605937, Grant No. JSGG20191129114422849).