title: Cortisol responses on the dexamethasone suppression test among women with Bulimia-spectrum eating disorders: associations with clinical symptoms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evidence associates Bulimia Nervosa (BN) with altered functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but the clinical implications of such alterations need to be better understood. We contrasted cortisol responses to the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in bulimic and non-eating disordered women and examined relationships among DST cortisol responses, eating symptoms and co-morbid disturbances.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty women with Bulimia Spectrum (BS) Disorders (either BN or normal weight Eating Disorder NOS with regular binge eating or purging) and 54 non-eating disordered women of similar age and body mass index participated in a 0.5 mg DST, and completed interviews and questionnaires assessing eating symptoms and co-morbid psychopathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the normal-eater group, the BS women demonstrated significantly less DST suppression. Among BS women, DST non-suppression was associated with more severe depression, anxiety and eating preoccupations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings show BS women to show less DST suppression compared to normal eater women, and results link extent of non-suppression, in BS individuals, to severity of depression, anxiety and eating preoccupations.
authors.affiliation: Douglas Mental Health University Institute & McGill University, Montreal, Canada. bruken@douglas.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steiger
authors.forename: Mimi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Israël
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Groleau
authors.forename: N M K
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Ng Ying Kin
authors.forename: Anne-Sophie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ouellette
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sycz
authors.forename: Ghislaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Badawi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002032:Bulimia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010912:Pituitary-Adrenal Function Tests
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone