Table 2.
Group comparisons of hair variables.
| Nondepressed controls (n = 27) |
Major depressive disorder (n = 21) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mdn (IQR) [Range] | Mdn (IQR) [Range] | Test statistics | Effect size | |
| Cortisol [pg/mg]a | 9.7 (3.2) [4.6, 65.9] | 8.3 (6.3) [3.9, 157.0] | ANCOVAc: b[95% CI]d = −0.20 [ −0.36, −0.03], p = .012, pFDR= .040 | d = −.49 |
| Cortisone [pg/mg] | 24.6 (15.6) [15.6, 87.8] | 16.9 (7.8) [10.1, 50.4] | U = 824.5, p < .001, pFDR= .005 | rrankbiserial = −.57 |
| Testosterone [pg/mg] | 6.0 (3.8) [3.1, 23.1] | 6.9 (2.4) [4.9, 12.5] | ANCOVAc: b[95% CI] = −0.95 [ −0.18, 2.13], p = .050, pFDR = .116 | d = .42 |
| Progesterone [pg/mg]b | 5.2 (1.0) [4.3, 9.1] | 7.2 (2.5) [4.5, 9.1] | – | – |
| 2-AG [pg/mg] | 246 (90) [166, 483] | 256 (107) [152, 453] | U = 657.5, p = .934, pFDR = .934 | rrankbiserial = .01 |
| PEA [pg/mg] | 2522 (1450) [1323, 11815] | 2302 (2586) [1069, 31671] | U = 645.0, p = .732, pFDR = .854 | rrankbiserial = .06 |
| SEA [pg/mg] | 723 (634) [84, 1912] | 851 (416) [331, 10007] | U = 595.0, p = .167, pFDR = .292 | rrankbiserial = .23 |
| OEA [pg/mg] | 1829 (1168) [690, 7167] | 1687 (2175) [927, 25327] | U = 633.0, p = .554, pFDR = .775 | rrankbiserial = −.10 |
Note: Substance concentrations could not be measured in all hair samples: an = 23 vs. 15, bn = 5 vs. 4; due to the small number of successful measures, progesterone concentrations were not statistically analyzed. c Robust ANCOVAs were adjusted for age and/or hair washing frequency. Detailed model and predictor statistics are provided in Supplementary Table 2d The outcome variable’s natural logarithm (ln) was used to lower the influence of distant data points.