Post-dexamethasone cortisol correlates with severity of depression before and during carbamazepine treatment in women but not men.

Author(s): Osuch EA, Cora-Locatelli G, Frye MA, Huggins T, Kimbrell TA, Ketter TA, Callahan AM, Post RM

Affiliation(s): Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.

Publication date & source: 2001-11, Acta Psychiatr Scand., 104(5):397-401.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies show a state-dependent relationship between depression and post-dexamethasone suppression test (DST) cortisol level, as well as differences in DST response with age and gender. METHOD: In this study, 74 research in-patients with affective disorders were given the DST on placebo and in a subgroup following treatment with carbamazepine. Depression was evaluated twice daily with the Bunney-Hamburg (BH) rating scale. Data were examined for the total subject population, by gender and by menopausal status in women. RESULTS: A robust positive correlation was observed between depression severity and post-DST cortisol in pre- and postmenopausal females, but not in males. This relationship persisted in women when restudied on a stable dose of carbamazepine (n=42). CONCLUSION: The pathophysiological implications of this selective positive relationship between severity of depression and post-DST cortisol in women, but not men, should be explored further.