Cortisol levels predict depression in teenage boys, study shows

Raised morning cortisol concentrations are associated with three times the odds of clinical depression in teenage boys with depressive symptoms, a new study has found.1 Matthew Owens, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the University of Cambridge, said, “This new biomarker suggests that we may be able to offer a more personalised approach to tackling boys at risk of depression. “This could be a much needed way of reducing the number of people suffering from depression—and in particular stemming a risk at a time when there has been an increasing rate of suicide among teenage boys and young men.” The study stratified 1858 English schoolchildren aged between 12 and 19 …