Larger pituitary size may partly explain the link between early puberty and depressive symptoms in some adolescents, controversial research from Professor Patrick McGorry’s Orygen Youth Health Research Centre concludes.
Earlier pubertal timing was significantly associated with larger pituitary volume, which in turn was associated with higher depressive symptoms over three years follow-up, a study of 155 Melbourne high school students found.
“We speculate that an enlarged pituitary gland in adolescents with early pubertal onset might be associated with hyperactivation of the hormonal stress response, leading to increased susceptibility to environmental stressors, and subsequent development of depressive symptoms,” they wrote.
Consistent with McGorry’s theme of intervening early in young people at ‘high risk’ of psychosis, the authors wrote: “our findings suggest the potential...
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