Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression

Mild depressive symptoms (MDS) reflect vulnerability to major depression that does not meet the criteria for a major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous research indicates that it is difficult to identify MDS in young adults, and they exhibit diverse aspects of depressive symptoms caused by clinical...

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Main Authors: Jae-A Lim, Je-Yeon Yun, Yoobin Choi, Soo-Hee Choi, Yoonhee Kwon, Hwa Young Lee, Joon Hwan Jang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00217/full
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spelling doaj-4936687605244c2ebf5f412f91b9caac2020-11-25T02:35:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402020-03-011110.3389/fpsyt.2020.00217483975Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild DepressionJae-A Lim0Jae-A Lim1Je-Yeon Yun2Je-Yeon Yun3Yoobin Choi4Soo-Hee Choi5Yoonhee Kwon6Hwa Young Lee7Joon Hwan Jang8Joon Hwan Jang9Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Health Service Center, Seoul, South KoreaSeoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South KoreaYeongeon Student Support Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Health Service Center, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Health Service Center, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Health Service Center, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South KoreaMild depressive symptoms (MDS) reflect vulnerability to major depression that does not meet the criteria for a major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous research indicates that it is difficult to identify MDS in young adults, and they exhibit diverse aspects of depressive symptoms caused by clinical depression, which can lead to poor academic performance, relationship difficulties, and even suicide. Additionally, many young adults remain unaware of their depressive symptoms during the early stages of MDD. Thus, the present study investigated clinical, neurocognitive, and physiological characteristics of young adults with various symptoms of depression and explored sex-specific differences. A total of 113 students aged 18–35 (MDD: n = 32; MDS: n =37; control [CON]: n = 44) participated in the study. Self-report clinical measures, short-term cardiac activity measured by finger sensors, and neurocognitive data were collected. Pearson's correlations, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis, and exploratory structural equation modeling were conducted for the statistical analyses. Furthermore, the measurement invariance of the latent factor model was tested, and fit indices were compared according to sex. The results revealed that male students showed greater sympatho-vagal activity than female students. Additionally, male MDS students tended to exhibit decreased performance levels in neurocognitive function tasks compared with MDD and CON males, whereas female MDS students showed distinct characteristics compared to MDD and CON females on self-report measures of anxiety. Correlation analyses identified a positive association between the level of anger perception and latency in the executive function test among both males and females. Additionally, the use of a structured model revealed significant sex-specific differences in factor estimates. The present results suggest that recognizing the early signs of MDS that account for sex-specific differences in both subjective and objective measures may improve the diagnosis and monitoring of young adults with MDS.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00217/fullyoung adultsmild depressive symptomheart rate variabilitysex differencesemotion regulation
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jae-A Lim
Jae-A Lim
Je-Yeon Yun
Je-Yeon Yun
Yoobin Choi
Soo-Hee Choi
Yoonhee Kwon
Hwa Young Lee
Joon Hwan Jang
Joon Hwan Jang
spellingShingle Jae-A Lim
Jae-A Lim
Je-Yeon Yun
Je-Yeon Yun
Yoobin Choi
Soo-Hee Choi
Yoonhee Kwon
Hwa Young Lee
Joon Hwan Jang
Joon Hwan Jang
Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression
Frontiers in Psychiatry
young adults
mild depressive symptom
heart rate variability
sex differences
emotion regulation
author_facet Jae-A Lim
Jae-A Lim
Je-Yeon Yun
Je-Yeon Yun
Yoobin Choi
Soo-Hee Choi
Yoonhee Kwon
Hwa Young Lee
Joon Hwan Jang
Joon Hwan Jang
author_sort Jae-A Lim
title Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression
title_short Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression
title_full Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression
title_fullStr Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression
title_full_unstemmed Sex-Specific Differences in Severity of Depressive Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Neurocognitive Profiles of Depressed Young Adults: Exploring Characteristics for Mild Depression
title_sort sex-specific differences in severity of depressive symptoms, heart rate variability, and neurocognitive profiles of depressed young adults: exploring characteristics for mild depression
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Psychiatry
issn 1664-0640
publishDate 2020-03-01
description Mild depressive symptoms (MDS) reflect vulnerability to major depression that does not meet the criteria for a major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous research indicates that it is difficult to identify MDS in young adults, and they exhibit diverse aspects of depressive symptoms caused by clinical depression, which can lead to poor academic performance, relationship difficulties, and even suicide. Additionally, many young adults remain unaware of their depressive symptoms during the early stages of MDD. Thus, the present study investigated clinical, neurocognitive, and physiological characteristics of young adults with various symptoms of depression and explored sex-specific differences. A total of 113 students aged 18–35 (MDD: n = 32; MDS: n =37; control [CON]: n = 44) participated in the study. Self-report clinical measures, short-term cardiac activity measured by finger sensors, and neurocognitive data were collected. Pearson's correlations, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis, and exploratory structural equation modeling were conducted for the statistical analyses. Furthermore, the measurement invariance of the latent factor model was tested, and fit indices were compared according to sex. The results revealed that male students showed greater sympatho-vagal activity than female students. Additionally, male MDS students tended to exhibit decreased performance levels in neurocognitive function tasks compared with MDD and CON males, whereas female MDS students showed distinct characteristics compared to MDD and CON females on self-report measures of anxiety. Correlation analyses identified a positive association between the level of anger perception and latency in the executive function test among both males and females. Additionally, the use of a structured model revealed significant sex-specific differences in factor estimates. The present results suggest that recognizing the early signs of MDS that account for sex-specific differences in both subjective and objective measures may improve the diagnosis and monitoring of young adults with MDS.
topic young adults
mild depressive symptom
heart rate variability
sex differences
emotion regulation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00217/full
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