Examination of children with separation anxiety and their mothers' relationship with plasma oxytocin levels and change in after treatment anxiety

Objective: Although the role of oxytocin in attachment and the role of insecure attachment in the etiology of separation anxiety disorder (SAD) are known; The effect of oxytocin on the biological basis of SAD has not been clarified. In our study, it was aimed to compare the plasma oxytocin levels of children with SAD and their mothers with healthy controls and to examine the relationship between oxytocin levels and the change in anxiety 3 months after the treatment. Patients and methods: 30 children aged 6-12 years with a diagnosis of SAD and their mothers, and 30 healthy children and their mothers were included in the study. All cases were evaluated with K-SDAS-PL-DSM-5-T. Then, the children were given RCADS-CV, SAAS-CF, ECR-RC scales to assess anxiety, depression, and attachment, and their mothers were given the SASI, HDRS and HARS scales to assess depression and anxiety. The clinician filled the CGI. The patient group was re-evaluated with their mothers 3 months later, after routine follow-up and treatment. Blood was drawn from both groups and their mothers to evaluate plasma oxytocin levels before and after treatment. Results: In our study, plasma oxytocin levels of mothers of children with SAD were found to be significantly lower than controls; The oxytocin level of mothers of children with SAD increased significantly at 3 months after the treatment of their children. No difference was found between the plasma oxytocin levels of children with SAD and the control group. The plasma oxytocin levels of children with SAD decreased significantly after treatment. A negative correlation was found between pre-treatment oxytocin levels and pre-treatment attachment scores of children with SAD. Conclusions: Our results show that mothers' oxytocin levels may be more important than children's in SAD. In addition, the change in plasma oxytocin levels in both children and mothers after treatment suggests that oxytocin may be important in the etiology of SAD. More studies are needed for the relationship between SAB and oxytocin levels. Key words: Separation anxiety, attachment, oxytocin, SSRI