Dexamethasone suppression test and Axis i diagnoses of inpatients with DSM-IIi borderline personality disorder
Baxter, L.; Edell, W.; Gerner, R.; Fairbanks, L.; Gwirtsman, H.
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 45(4): 150-153
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0160-6689 PMID: 6715286 Document Number: 223346
To determine the relationship of Axis I diagnoses to the DSM-III diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, 100 consecutive admissions to an inpatient service were studied. Of the 27 patients labeled borderline, 14 were given an Axis I diagnosis of major depression (unipolar) compared with 8 of 73 nonborderlines; 73% (19 of 26) of all borderlines tested but only 46% (18 of 39) of nonborderlines had a positive DST (p less than .05). Few borderline patients received concomitant nonaffective diagnoses, and even fewer were given bipolar or schizoaffective diagnoses.