Oxytocin and Vasopressin Levels and Related Factors in Adolescents with Social Phobia and Other Anxiety Disorders
Necati Uzun 1*, Ömer Faruk Akça 1, İbrahim Kılınç 2, Tevfik Balcı 3
1Necmettin Erbakan University Meram School of Medicine Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2Necmettin Erbakan University Meram School of Medicine Department of Biochemistry, 3Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Biochemistry
Received: January 27, 2021; Revised: April 16, 2021; Accepted: April 16, 2021; Published online: April 16, 2021.
© The Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. All rights reserved.

Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine whether a difference exists in plasma oxytocin and vasopressin levels among social anxiety disorder, other anxiety disorders, and healthy control groups in adolescents. The relationship between several psychiatric variables (i.e., state and trait anxiety, social anxiety, childhood trauma, and behavioral inhibition) and oxytocin or vasopressin levels were also investigated in adolescents with anxiety disorders.
Method: The study included three groups of adolescents: social anxiety disorder (n:29), those with other anxiety disorders (n:27), and the control group (n:28). The participants filled out self-report scales to determine various psychological variables. Oxytocin and vasopressin levels were determined from the blood samples of the participants.
Results: The oxytocin levels did not show a significant difference between the social anxiety disorder group and the other anxiety disorders group. However, the oxytocin levels were significantly higher in the social anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders groups than in the control group. The vasopressin levels did not show a significant difference among the groups. According to the hierarchical regression analysis, the state and trait anxiety levels predicted oxytocin in opposite directions. Oxytocin showed positive and negative relationship with trait and state anxiety respectively. No predictive factors were found for the vasopressin levels.
Conclusion: We found that the OXT levels of adolescents with SoPh were not different from those of adolescents with other anxiety disorders. Further studies can improve our knowledge of the relationship among anxiety disorders and oxytocin, vasopressin.
Keywords: anxiety disorders, oxytocin, vasopressin, social phobia, behavioral inhibition

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