View article

There is now firm evidence that major depression is accompanied by increased baseline activity of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis, as assessed by means of 24‐h urinary cortisol (UC) excretion. Recently, there were some reports that fibromyalgia and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), two disorders which show a significant amplitude of depressive symptoms, are associated with changes in the baseline activity of the HPA axis, such as low 24‐h UC excretion. The aim of the present study was to examine 24‐h UC excretion in fibromyalgia and PTSD patients compared to normal controls and patients with major depression. In the three patient groups, severity of depressive symptoms was measured by means of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score. Severity of fibromyalgia was measured using a dolorimetrically obtained myalgic score, and severity of PTSD was assessed by means …