HPA axis function and temperament in depression: a negative report

Positive correlations between scores on the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and plasma cortisol levels have led to the suggestion that temperament may be a major determinant of hypercortisolemia in depression. We had administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) to a group of 39 depressed patients who also underwent measurement of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. There were no significant correlations among the EPQ variables extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism, and plasma cortisol levels, either pre or postdexamethasone, or with urinary free cortisol. Among a small group of six patients who completed the TPQ, there were similarly no significant correlations.