The dexamethasone suppression test in agoraphobia.

Patients diagnosed as having agoraphobia with panic attacks by DSM-III criteria were evaluated with the dexamethasone suppression test (DST). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory, the Depression Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Of 97 patients tested, 12.4% had a positive DST. These findings are consistent with earlier reports that found an incidence of abnormal DSTs between 11% and 15% in agoraphobic patients. Abnormal DSTs did not correlate with levels of depression on any of the depression measures.