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The dexamethasone suppression test and CSF-5-HIAA in relation to suicidality and depression in suicide attempters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Åsa Westrin  and
Anders Niméus
Åsa Westrin*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Lund University, 221 85Lund, Sweden
Anders Niméus
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Lund University, 221 85Lund, Sweden
*
*E-mail address: asa.westrin@psykiatr.lu.se
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Abstract

This study tested suicidality in relation to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and the dexamethasone suppression test. Patients with nonsuppression of cortisol had the highest scores of the Suicide Assessment Scale (SUAS) and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), respectively (P < 0.05; P < 0.01). The results persisted when analysed for covariance with CSF-5-HIAA. We have previously noted an elevated suicide risk in suicide attempters with high SUAS-scores, why a large part of nonsuppressors may be at high risk for future suicide.

Keywords

Depressive disorderSuicide, attemptedPituitary-adrenal systemSerotoninSuicide Assessment Scale
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , June 2003 , pp. 166 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS 2003

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