Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:212-214
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Prognostic validity of the dexamethasone suppression test: results of a six-month prospective follow-up
M Zimmerman, W Coryell and B Pfohl
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.
