Neuroendocrine and personality variables in dysthymic disorder

In an attempt to characterize a subgroup of depressed patients diagnosed as having dysthymic disorder, the authors gave them two commonly used biological tests for depression and several personality inventories and compared the results with those from age- and sex-matched normal control subjects. There were no significant differences between the 11 early-onset dysthymic disorder patients and the 11 controls on the dexamethasone suppression test or the thyrotropin-releasing hormone test. The personality questionnaires, however, showed that the dysthymic disorder patients were significantly more neurotic, extrapunitive, and intrapunitive and had significantly lower self-esteem than the control subjects.