Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:81-84
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Prediction of postdexamethasone cortisol levels by serum sodium levels in patients with major depression [published erratum appears in Am J Psychiatry 1987 May;144(5):697]
GD Tollefson, J Zander, M Luxenberg, S Saxena, M Godes and MJ Garvey
The authors analyzed the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results of 54
patients with major depressive disorder in relation to their pre- DST
levels of cholesterol, sodium, potassium, and blood glucose, which are
thought to have adrenocorticotrophic links. Discriminant analysis revealed
that sodium alone was a significant predictor of nonsuppression. Validation
of the predictive power of sodium could minimize the need for DST
administration.
