Johnson G F, Hunt G, Kerr K, Caterson I
Psychiatry Res. 1984 Dec;13(4):305-13. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(84)90078-7.
The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was evaluated in newly hospitalized patients with a DSM-III diagnosis of major depression. Patients with other psychiatric disorders and a normal control group were also studied. Plasma dexamethasone levels were obtained in all patients, and the relationship between plasma cortisol and plasma dexamethasone was examined. Rates of non-suppression in patients with major depression (39%) were not significantly different from those in patients with minor depression (25%), mania (38%), or other psychiatric illnesses (17%). The ranges of dexamethasone levels at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. were similar between patient groups and controls. However, there was a significant difference in dexamethasone levels between suppressors and nonsuppressors, irrespective of diagnosis, which could not be explained by differences in weight or plasma dexamethasone half-life. Inappropriately high dexamethasone levels were found in some patients with a 1 mg test, a problem that critically affects the sensitivity of the test procedure.
对新入院的、经《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第三版（DSM-III）诊断为重度抑郁症的患者进行了地塞米松抑制试验（DST）评估。还对患有其他精神疾病的患者以及一个正常对照组进行了研究。获取了所有患者的血浆地塞米松水平，并检测了血浆皮质醇与血浆地塞米松之间的关系。重度抑郁症患者的不抑制率（39%）与轻度抑郁症患者（25%）、躁狂症患者（38%）或其他精神疾病患者（17%）的不抑制率无显著差异。患者组和对照组上午8点和下午4点的地塞米松水平范围相似。然而，无论诊断如何，抑制者和非抑制者的地塞米松水平存在显著差异，这无法用体重或血浆地塞米松半衰期的差异来解释。在一些进行1毫克试验的患者中发现地塞米松水平过高，这一问题严重影响了测试程序的敏感性。
