Objective: It is reported that oxytocin facilitates coping with stress and has anxiolytic and anti-stress effects, and that oxytocin administration reduce the levels of anxiety symptoms and aggression. This study aimed to investigate the serum levels of oxytocin in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD).
Methods: This study included a total of 50 patients admitted to the Erciyes University Medical School Department of Psychiatry outpatient clinic between August 2012 and November 2013; the patients were 18-65 years of age, without medication, followed inpatient or outpatient. Of 50 patients 23 were diagnosed with GAD (8 male and 15 female) and 27 with PD (14 male and 13 female). Control group consisted of 23 (11 male and 12 female) healthy subjects. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) were administered to both the patients and the controls. In addition, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Test (GAD-7) and the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) were administered to the patients with GAD and PD, respectively. Clinical scales were administered to the groups only once. Serum levels of oxytocin were assayed with ELISA.
Results: Although serum oxytocin levels of the patients with GAD and PD were higher than the control group, this difference was not statistically significant. There was no gender effect on oxytocin levels.
Conclusions: In this study, it was found that serum oxytocin levels of the patients with GAD and PD were higher than the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant. This mild increase in serum oxytocin levels may result from compensatory mechanisms to reduce the anxiety.