title: Post-dexamethasone cortisol, self-inflicted injury, and suicidal ideation among depressed adolescent girls.
abstract: Although the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) has limited use as a biomarker of depression given inadequate sensitivity and specificity, it marks prospective risk for suicide among adults. However, few studies have examined associations between the DST, suicidal ideation, and self-inflicted injury (SII) among adolescents, even though SII is the single best predictor of eventual suicide. We evaluated the DST as a correlate of suicidal ideation and retrospective reports of self-inflicted injury (SII) among adolescent girls, ages 13-17, with histories of depression (n = 28) or depression and self-harm (n = 29). Lower post-DST cortisol was associated with suicidal ideation and SII, over-and-above parent-reports and combined parent-/self-reports of internalizing and externalizing behavior. These findings are consistent with recent acquired capacity models of stress-related psychopathology in which hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis function is altered through epigenetic/allostatic mechanisms among vulnerable individuals who incur adversity early in life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA, beauchaine.1@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Theodore P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Beauchaine
authors.forename: Sheila E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Crowell
authors.forename: Ray C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Hsiao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000378:metabolism*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000378:metabolism*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000378:metabolism*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000378:metabolism*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone