The Cortisol Awakening Response as a Biomarker for Cognitive Side-Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy
Publication date
2023-11
Authors
Feenstra, Thomas C
la Cruz, Eldon K J
Obbels, Jasmien
Laroy, Maarten
Bouckaert, Filip
Sienaert, Pascal
Oudega, Mardien
Dols, Annemieke
van Exel, Eric
Beekman, Aartjan T F
Editors
Advisors
Supervisors
Document Type
Article
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taverne
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To test whether the cortisol awakening response (CAR) could be a biomarker for cognitive decline during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). METHODS: We studied 50 older patients with depression who were treated with ECT from the MODECT cohort. We used linear regression analyses to examine the association between CAR and cognitive change, assessed by the change in Mini Mental State Examination scores between baseline and 1 week after ECT course. CAR was assessed by the area under the curve of cortisol levels, according to Pruessner's-formula. Associations were adjusted for putative confounders, based on previous literature and availability. RESULTS: We found no significant associations between the CAR and cognitive change during the ECT course in (un)adjusted models. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the CAR is not usable as a biomarker for ECT-induced cognitive decline during ECT course. Further research in cohorts with larger samples is needed.
Keywords
Major depressive disorder, cognitive side-effects, cortisol, electroconvulsive therapy, Taverne, Geriatrics and Gerontology, Psychiatry and Mental health
Citation
Feenstra, T C, la Cruz, E K J, Obbels, J, Laroy, M, Bouckaert, F, Sienaert, P, Oudega, M, Dols, A, van Exel, E, Beekman, A T F & Rhebergen, D 2023, 'The Cortisol Awakening Response as a Biomarker for Cognitive Side-Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy', The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 991-995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2023.07.004