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.