title: Low Fasting Oxytocin Levels Are Associated With Psychopathology in Anorexia Nervosa in Partial Recovery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anorexia nervosa (AN), a psychiatric disorder characterized by restriction of food intake despite severe weight loss, is associated with increased comorbid anxiety and depression. Secretion of oxytocin, an appetite-regulating neurohormone with anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, is abnormal in AN. The link between oxytocin levels and psychopathology in AN has not been well explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a cross-sectional study of 79 women aged 18-45 years (19 AN, 26 AN in partial recovery [ANPR], and 34 healthy controls [HC]) investigating the relationship between basal oxytocin levels and disordered eating psychopathology, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. AN diagnoses were based on DSM-5 criteria. Data acquisition took place between December 2008 and March 2014. Fasting serum oxytocin levels were obtained, and the following self-report measures were used to assess psychopathology: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory-II.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fasting oxytocin levels were low in ANPR compared to HC (P = .0004). In ANPR but not AN, oxytocin was negatively associated with disordered eating psychopathology (r = -0.39, P = .0496) and anxiety symptoms (state anxiety: r = -0.53, P = .006; trait anxiety: r = -0.49, P = .01). Furthermore, ANPR with significant disordered eating psychopathology, anxiety symptoms, or depressive symptoms had lower oxytocin levels compared to those with minimal or no symptoms (P = .04, .02, and .007, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We speculate that a dysregulation of oxytocin pathways may contribute to persistent psychopathology after partial weight recovery from anorexia nervosa.
authors.affiliation: Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Yuliya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Afinogenova
authors.affiliation: Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmelkin
authors.affiliation: Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Plessow
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Reitumetse
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pulumo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Icahn Medical School at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.|Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Micali
authors.affiliation: Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Karen K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Kamryn T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Director, Interdisciplinary Oxytocin Research Program, Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Bulfinch 457-D, Boston, MA 02114. ealawson@partners.org.|Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lawson
mesh_terms: D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000097:blood*; D011599:Psychopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin