Am J Psychiatry 1994; 151:195-198
Copyright © 1994 by American Psychiatric Association
Temperament and hypercortisolemia in depression
PR Joyce, RT Mulder and CR Cloninger
Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand.
OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the relationships among depression
severity, melancholia, and cortisol level and the relationship between
temperament, as measured with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire,
and cortisol level. METHOD: Morning and afternoon cortisol levels of 40
healthy comparison subjects and 96 patients with major depression were
measured. The depressed patients were rated for depression severity and
melancholia, and they completed the Tridimensional Personality
Questionnaire. RESULTS: Temperament, especially dependence and
extravagance, but not depressive symptoms, was the major determinant of the
hypercortisolemia observed in the depressed patients. CONCLUSIONS: For
research in biological psychiatry to advance, more attention needs to be
paid to the individual differences in biology that underlie any
state-dependent biologic dysfunction.
