title: Immunity in adolescents with major depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The association between major depression (MD) and altered immunity appears to be age-related, with differing immune changes found in prepubertal children, young adults, and older adults. There is limited information concerning immunity in adolescents with MD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-six otherwise healthy medication-free adolescents (aged 14-20; 23 female) from a community sample, meeting Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DSM-III-R criteria for unipolar MD, were compared with 36 nondepressed adolescents matched by gender, age, and racial background. A battery of quantitative and functional immune measures was obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MD adolescents had increased (p < .05) circulating lymphocytes and lymphocyte subsets; however, altered distribution of lymphocyte subsets was found only for activated T (HLA-DR+) cells (p < .004) and, possibly, natural killer (NK) (CD56+) cells (p < .06), each showing lower percentages in the MD adolescents. Concanavalin A (but not phytohemagglutinin or pokeweed mitogen) mitogen response was lower in the MD adolescents (p < .02). NK cell activity was elevated at higher effector-target ratios (p < .001), an effect not associated with the number of circulating CD56+ (NK) cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depressed adolescents showed changes in immune measures that have been found to be altered in other MD groups, although the pattern of effects differs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Newark 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schleifer
authors.forename: Jacqueline A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Haftan M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Eckholdt
authors.forename: Samuel C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Shiflett
authors.forename: Beverly R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Delaney
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000378:metabolism; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008934:Mitogens / Q000097:blood; D009515:New Jersey
chemical_list: D008934:Mitogens