Symptoms and subtypes of depression among adolescents distinguished by the dexamethasone suppression test: A preliminary report

Abstract

Twenty-three adolescents hospitalized on an inpatient psychiatric unit underwent a dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and were diagnosed as having major depressive disorder by interviewers blind to the DST results. These patients were divided into four categories according to whether they had major depressive disorders, endogenous (MDDe) or nonendogenous (MDD), and whether they were nonsuppressors (+) or suppressors (-) in response to the DST, i.e., MDDe (+) MDDe (-), MDD (+), or MDD (-). Psychomotor features significantly differentiated the MDDe group from the MDD group. Among symptoms this further differentiated the MDDe (+) from the MDD (-) group. The primary subtype of depression occurred significantly more frequently among the MDDe group than the MDD group. The primary subtype also occurred more frequently among the MDDe (+) group than the MDD (-) group, whereas the MDD (-) group had a greater frequency of secondary depression.