Psychosomatics 42:461-466, December 2001
© 2001 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
Corticosteroid-Induced Psychotic and Mood Disorders
Diagnosis Defined by DSM-IV and Clinical Pictures
Ken Wada, M.D., Norihito Yamada, M.D., Toshiki Sato, M.D., Hiroshi Suzuki, M.D., Masahito Miki, M.D., Yomei Lee, M.D., Kazufumi Akiyama, M.D., and Shigetoshi Kuroda, M.D.
Received November 15, 2000; revised March 23, 2001; accepted March 12, 2001. From the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Okayama University Medical School 2-5-1, Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan, Department of Psychiatry, Hiroshima City Hospital, 7-33, Moto-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-8518, Japan. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Wada Department of Psychiatry, Hiroshima City Hospital, 7-33, Moto-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-8518, Japan. E-mail: kenwada@do3.enjoy.ne.jp
The authors investigated long-term outcome and treatment strategy of corticosteroid-induced psychotic and mood disorders as defined by DSM-IV. Review of medical records of 2,069 referral patients revealed 18 applicable patients. Their clinical characteristics, longitudinal courses, and treatments were studied. The authors identified 15 patients with mood disorder and 3 patients with psychotic disorder. Increasing doses or resumption of corticosteroids had the strongest influence on the psychiatric course. These two corticosteroid-induced psychiatric disorders may have different pathophysiological substrates closely related to patient vulnerability. Effective psychopharmacological treatment options were indicated with consideration being given to the underlying diseases.
Key Words: Cortiscosteroid • Mood Disorder • Psychotic Disorder
