Dexamethasone suppression test in schizophrenia. A study and review

The prevalence of an abnormal response to the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was examined in 40 inpatients suffering from a major depressive disorder (MDD), 17 inpatients suffering from schizophrenia, and 30 normal controls. 23.5% of the schizophrenics were DST nonsuppressors compared to 52.5% of MDD patients and 6.7% of normal controls. The prevalence of abnormal DST in schizophrenics in the literature is reviewed and factors like the presence of depression, doses of dexamethasone, and hospital admission, which may account for the wide variability of prevalence among studies (0-35%), are discussed.