The Dexamethasone Suppression Test in Affective Illnesses and Schizophrenia: Relationship With Psychotic Symptoms

The authors studied the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) on a series of 112 inpatients including 65 patients with major depressive disorder, 15 patients with depressive disorder, 10 schizoaffective & 22 schizophrenic patients. Using different diagnostic criteria, they confirmed the best performances of the DST in depression for the diagnosis of a major depressive disroder, primarily endogenous. They also examined the potential influence of psychotic symptoms, suicidal behavior & family history of affective illness on the DST. (8 refs)