title: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity in patients with diabetes mellitus.
abstract: Several clinical and physiologic associations between depression and diabetes mellitus have been reported. In this study, a potential neuroendocrine association was studied by measuring hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity in patients with diabetes mellitus. Plasma cortisol levels and response to dexamethasone administration were determined in 54 diabetics. Twenty-three (55%) of forty-two 1-mg dexamethasone suppression tests (DSTs) performed in 34 subjects, with eight repeated tests, and two (10%) of twenty 2-mg DSTs demonstrated a blunting of normal suppression. None of a variety of potential demographic, physiologic, or mood factors predicted nonsuppression. This study replicates prior findings that HPA dysfunction occurs in association with diabetes, and invalidates the use of the 1-mg DST as a diagnostic marker for melancholia in patients with diabetes.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003907:Dexamethasone; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone