RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study examines orexin A levels in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Serum orexin A levels of adolescents with MDD (n = 40) were compared to healthy controls (n = 38) using ANCOVA test. In addition, the relationship between orexin A levels and MDD symptom severity (i.e., child depression inventory) was investigated in the MDD group using correlation and linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Orexin A levels of the subjects with MDD were similar to controls while controlling for age, gender, body mass index, and anxiety levels of the subjects. In addition, correlation and regression analyses did not reveal any relationship between orexin A and MDD symptoms. DISCUSSION: Adolescent MDD is not associated with orexin A according to the findings of this study. Future studies considering the effect of stress on this relationship would improve our understanding of this issue.Key PointsAdult studies exploring the relationship between orexin A and major depressive disorder reported contradictory findings.This study showed no relationship between serum orexin A levels and depressive symptom severity among adolescents with major depressive disorder.Orexin A levels of the subjects with major depressive disorder are not significantly different from healthy adolescents.