Prognostic validity of the dexamethasone suppression test: results of a six-month prospective follow-up.

In a 6-month prospective follow-up study, the authors located and interviewed 165 (88.2%) of 187 primary unipolar depressed inpatients to whom a 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) had been given during their first week of hospitalization. Longitudinal ratings of symptoms over the follow-up period and 6-month cross-sectional ratings on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Global Assessment Scale were obtained for each patient. The authors also collected information on rehospitalization after discharge from the index episode. Baseline DST results were not associated with any of the outcome variables.