Key result
Baseline dexamethasone suppression test results show no association with 6-month depression symptoms or rehospitalization.
Why the study?
Does the 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test predict clinical outcomes in primary unipolar depressed inpatients?
Cohort (n=187)
Does the 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test predict clinical outcomes in primary unipolar depressed inpatients?
The 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test given during hospitalization does not predict 6-month clinical outcomes or rehospitalization in primary unipolar depressed inpatients.
Does not support 1-mg DST for outcome prediction in unipolar depression; leaves open whether other HPA-axis measures hold prognostic value.
In a 6-month prospective follow-up study, the authors located and interviewed 165 (88.2%) of 187 primary unipolar depressed inpatients to whom a 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) had been given during their first week of hospitalization. Longitudinal ratings of symptoms over the follow-up period and 6-month cross-sectional ratings on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Global Assessment Scale were obtained for each patient. The authors also collected information on rehospitalization after discharge from the index episode. Baseline DST results were not associated with any of the outcome variables.
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Zimmerman et al. (1987) conducted a cohort in Primary unipolar depression (n=187). Baseline dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results was evaluated on Longitudinal ratings of symptoms, 6-month cross-sectional ratings on depression scales, and rehospitalization. Baseline 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test results were not associated with longitudinal symptom ratings, cross-sectional depression scores, or rehospitalization over a 6-month follow-up.
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