title: Peripheral oxytocin and vasopressin: Biomarkers of psychiatric disorders? A comprehensive systematic review and preliminary meta-analysis.
abstract: A large array of studies have investigated peripheral oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (ADH) as potential biomarkers of psychiatric disorders, with highly conflicting and heterogenous findings. We searched Web of KnowledgeSM and Scopus® for English original articles investigating OT and/or ADH levels in different biological fluids (plasma/serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid) across several psychiatric disorders. Sixty-four studies were included. We conducted 19 preliminary meta-analyses addressing OT alterations in plasma/serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid of 7 psychiatric disorders and ADH alterations in plasma/serum, saliva, urine and cerebrospinal fluid of 6 psychiatric disorders compared to controls. Hedge's g was used as effect size measure, together with heterogeneity analyses, test of publication biases and quality control. None of them (except serum OT in anorexia nervosa) revealed significant differences. There is no convincing evidence that peripheral ADH or OT might be reliable biomarkers in psychiatric disorders. However, the lack of significant results was associated with high methodological heterogeneity, low quality of the studies, small sample size, and scarce reliability of the methods used in previous studies, which need to be validated and standardized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma, 67-56126 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rutigliano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rocchetti
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO89, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK.
authors.forename: Yannis
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Paloyelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, UK.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gilleen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sardella
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cappucciati
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palombini
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma, 67-56126 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dell'Osso
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Edgardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caverzasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Politi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, PO63, De Crespigny Park, SE58AF London, UK; OASIS clinic, SLaM NHS Foundation Trust, 190 Kennington Lane, SE11 5DL London, UK. Electronic address: paolo.fusar-poli@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fusar-Poli
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014667:Vasopressins; D010121:Oxytocin
keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Autism spectrum disorder; Bipolar disorder; Bulimia nervosa; Major depressive disorder; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Psychosis