Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:1323-1325
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Neuroendocrine risk factors of suicidal behavior
R Ostroff, E Giller, K Bonese, E Ebersole, L Harkness and J Mason
Three of 22 subjects in a study of neuroendocrine correlates of clinical
change made serious suicide attempts, 2 of which were lethal. The suicidal
subjects had significantly higher 24-hour urinary cortisol levels and
significantly lower 24-hour urinary norepinephrine-to- epinephrine ratios
than the nonsuicidal patients had. Although the cortisol finding confirms
earlier reports, the norepinephrine-to- epinephrine ratio finding is new.
The results support the concept that the clinical utility of neuroendocrine
measures is enhanced by using a multihormonal profile.
