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The dexamethasone suppression test and DSM-III-R diagnoses in suicide attempters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Åsa Westrin ,
Karin Frii  and
Lil Träskman-Bendz
Åsa Westrin*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lund University, 221 85Lund, Sweden
Karin Frii
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lund University, 221 85Lund, Sweden
Lil Träskman-Bendz
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lund University, 221 85Lund, Sweden
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (Å.Westrin).
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Abstract

Previous research on hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis-activity in suicide attempter research has shown conflicting outcomes. The design of the present study was to test the influence of personality disorders and concominant axis I diagnoses on the dexamethasone suppression diagnostic test by use of multiple regression analyses. The sample consisted of 184 patients with a recent suicide attempt and 42 healthy controls. As expected, the lowest pre- and postdexamethasone cortisol levels were found in patients with personality disorders axis II, cluster B as compared to the other patients. The results remained significant when analysed for covariance with DSM-III-R axis I diagnoses, age or sex. Whether these low cortisol levels are due to previous experience of extreme stressful events or long-lasting burden, or whether they may be a consequence of biogenetic or psychological predisposal of interest, remains to be elucidated. Axis I comorbidity needs to be further examined.

Keywords

Personality disorderDepressive disorderSuicide attemptsPituitary–adrenal systemCortisol
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 18 , Issue 7 , November 2003 , pp. 350 - 355
Copyright
Copyright © Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS.

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