title: Neuroendocrine aspects of primary endogenous depression: VI. Receiver operating characteristic analysis of the cortisol suppression index versus the dexamethasone suppression test in patients and matched controls.
abstract: The cortisol suppression index (CSI), which is the ratio of the predexamethasone (DEX) serum cortisol concentration to the post-DEX cortisol concentration, has been investigated as an alternative means of analyzing the response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis to DEX. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to examine the CSI versus the corresponding standard post-DEX cortisol values in a sample of 40 primary endogenous major depressives versus 40 matched normal control subjects who underwent a DEX suppression test (DST). The CSI was highly correlated with post-DEX cortisol values and showed no advantage in test performance over the standard DST across a wide range of criterion values. ROC analysis is a useful technique for determining the utility of the DST and other biological markers in psychiatry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance 90509.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: McCracken
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Poland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone