Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenal Axis Functioning in Huntington's Disease and its Association with Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality

Hyperactivity of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis has been reported in Huntington's disease (HD). In non‐HD populations, alterations in HPA axis activity have been associated with depression and suicidality. The present study aims to compare HPA axis activity between HD mutation carriers and controls, and examine its association with depressive symptoms and suicidality. To this end, salivary cortisol concentrations at seven time points, as well as depressive symptoms and suicidality, were assessed in 49 pre‐motor, 102 motor symptomatic mutation carriers and 55 controls, at baseline and follow‐up combined. Differences in parameters of HPA axis activity between these three groups, and their associations with depressive symptoms and suicidality in HD mutation carriers, were analysed using multilevel regression analyses. There were no differences in parameters of HPA axis activity between mutation carriers and controls, whereas pre‐motor symptomatic mutation carriers had a significantly higher area under the curve to the increase (AUCi) compared to motor symptomatic mutation carriers. In the entire HD cohort, HPA axis activity was not associated with depressive symptoms or suicidality. After stratifying mutation carriers into pre‐motor, early and advanced disease stages, β values differed between these groups. Remarkably, a higher AUCi was significantly associated with depressive symptoms in pre‐motor and early disease stage mutation carriers, with a reverse nonsignificant association in advanced disease stage mutation carriers. The lower AUCi in motor symptomatic mutation carriers and the varying associations with depressive symptoms and suicidality in pre‐motor, early and advanced disease stages could possibly be explained by exhaustion of the HPA axis after prolonged stress‐induced HPA axis hyperactivity and deserves further longitudinal study.